I wonder how many blogs will use the ‘Paranoid about Android’ tag in the next 24 hours? Google, the biggest data collector on the planet want’s to control the core of a mobile operating system. This should have launched on Halloween!
I’ve been reading through all the reports and comments and there really isn’t much to go on out there is there. When the API launches next week we’ll know more but at the moment I guess you could simply summarize by saying ‘Google’s had enough of Java’ and the time has come for them to dig deeper in connecting with mobile hardware. Actually, its probably the GPS that they want contact with.
As for Intel being in the alliance, I’m not sure what’s going on there. Maybe its because of the radio silicon they’re developing for MIDs or maybe, as I alluded to in my last post, it’s for the future where Google wants to put app’s on a mobile x86 platform. We’ll have to wait a while for the answer on that one.
I think the alliance is doing the right thing here. Dedicated Internet app’s are the only way to get a good experience on a 2″ screen. Its not about browsing websites, its about accessing the content and features through tailored app’s. [GigaOM reports that the browser ‘will support desktop browser-compatible app’s which means it’s likely to be Mozilla’s Mini Firefox as there aren’t any other serious, open, options right now.] As I demonstrated before, the Gmail app is the fastest way to get email on a mobile device and there’s no reason why a tailored maps, search and YouTube app isn’t going to be exactly the same. Consumers don’t want 3″ screens and don’t want huge slide-out keyboards either. They want to keep their beloved, stylish, communibuddy and Android is just the ticket for getting them aboard the mobile Internet bus.
How will this affect MID’s though? Only a few days ago I was saying that there was an opportunity for a similar alliance-like ecosystem to work in the MID market. If Android is done well it could get into the hands of hundreds of millions of users so yes, it could affect MID sales by removing some unique features but remember, the MID was never meant to be a phone replacement, it’s more of a partner device for desktop Internet and video activities. It would still sit well alongside Android feature-phones and the same alliance-like activity could still work. This watered-down Internet could even be a nice lead-in for MIDs; especially if customers catch-on faster than Android app’s or battery life can be enhanced.
I think I want an Android-based phone. Most of my online activity spans out from Gmail, Reader, Blogsearch, Google Docs or search and I like Google apps a lot. I’ve never wanted or needed a smartphone and now that I’ve found the ideal partner device in the small UMPC/handheld PC category, this dynamic duo could work very well for me.
