Google’s much anticipated Android mobile phone operating system, due to launch within the next few weeks, may actually be much more than a mobile OS. Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to expand it to be a sort of universal operating system that will span set-top boxes for televisions, mp3 players and other communication and media devices and services.
Rumors about this plan have actually been circulating since last year. Google “chief internet evangelist” and Internet co-creator Vint Cerf hinted at Google’s larger focus during a talk on innovation journalism that we attended in 2006, before Android existed:
In an internet enabled world, there is no reason that a projector could not be online and downloading images, maybe using the Blackberry as a control device. Surrounded by networked equipment that is reachable anywhere, devices harnessed on a temporary basis to do something for you and then released. I am predicting that during this decade, we will see more systems interacting with other systems like this….
Another clue that Google’ has bigger things in store for Android: Android creator Andy Rubin was working on a digital camera before he started Android; co-worker Rich Miner convinced him to go to mobile in order to make money. Android is built on Linux, the open source software that’s already used in other desktop and mobile operating systems. This allows it to be easily repurposed for devices besides phones.
This is where some of Google’s other initiatives could come in, one source speculates. If the wider-ranging operating system is really what Google is doing with Android, well, the App Engine, Google’s web hosting and support service for developers, wouldn’t just be about helping web developers, it would provide services for Android developers. And, Google is also constantly improving the artificial intelligence capacity of its search engine, its spam filtering in Gmail, and a range of other services — Google is creating a supercomputer, driven by artificial intelligence. Through Android, it could let these developers build applications that use its brain. What’s more, this could explain why Google has been experimenting with free WiFi in Mountain View (which is pretty great, by the way), and with other wireless transmission experiments. It wants to create an ecosystem that relies on communication between any two devices. In some cases, maybe it wants to help your Android phone talk to, say, an Android-connected overhead projector.
Google already faces major competitors. The iPhone, the attention-grabbing leader in mobile software, is already being used as a sort of universal remote for Apple products, including iTunes and Apple TV. But Apple’s SDK gives restricted access to “small” developers. Microsoft, meanwhile, has a similarly grand vision of connecting all your devices with its Live Mesh platform, but it isn’t focusing on mobile, and the realization of this goal is a long way off. [Update: John Furrier has more analysis on Android versus Microsoft and others, on Broaddev.com.]
To make Android truly valuable, Google needs to have an active ecosystem of third party developers building useful applications, just as what happened with Microsoft’s desktop operating system, and is happening now on the iPhone.
But Google isn’t focused on the rank-and-file developers yet. It’s targeting the mobile operators and handset makers from the Open Handset Alliance — in fact, these partners have been given early access, sources say, to the version of the Android SDK that we’ve heard is slated to launch publicly in a few weeks. It understands it needs to offer them an ecosystem they can live with, before it moves to help smaller players.
Just look at the numbers. There were slightly less than 6 million users before the iPhone 3G launch. In the United States alone, T-Mobile has 30.5 million subscribers. T-Mobile plans to launch its HTC phones in stages, internationally (USA & Europe). From what we hear, Germany will be an early market, so add another 27 million subscribers to the comparison. If the system will work for T-Mobile and HTC, you can be sure others will follow.
For now, Google is in anti-PR mode. “It doesn’t want to have a dead cat found,” as one source puts it. There are many reasons for that. The Android team is small and so secretive, and from what we hear, not many people at Google headquarters know about what it is working on. Google understands that it needs to make its OHA partners look good. It appears to be leaving all press decisions to OHA members, including T-Mobile, which may explain the most recent stories about T-Mobile’s pending Android-powered phone.
So, the Android-powered HTC phone expected to launch in the next few weeks could continue to hurt Google’s standing . The blogosphere hasn’t treated Android well — the SDK has taken many months to get to this stage since it was announced last year. The anti-Android trend will likely continue as commentators compare the HTC and the iPhone (the iPhone is better), and also say the U.S. T-Mobile network is bad (it is). But that’s all besides the point. There will be more phones coming out. The Android SDK appears to be much more powerful, and the distribution possibilities will eventually be better as more mobile operators join the OHA — and as Android expands to other devices.
[Flickr photo of huge remote via flippbong.]
4:16 pm
BroadDev - Unified Communications, Virtualization, Security, and Web 2.0 » Android ? What is It? Unified Communications Killer - Internet Operating System - Powered By Google said:
[...] Android is looking like a possible Unified Communications killer. Google is changing the game here. Eric Eldon has a fantastic reporting piece that Android isn’t just for phones. [...]
5:13 pm
Google IOS v1.0 - The Unified Communications Killer! via Android « Am I the only Microsoft guy in San Antonio? said:
[...] 15, 2008 · No Comments John Furrier and Eric Eldon are on to a scoop about the development of Android, and how the intent is NOT a phone platform, but [...]
6:38 pm
Android is Centerpiece of the Google Equation for the Edge « Furrier.org - Business & Technology Blog said:
[...] Android is Centerpiece of the Google Equation for the Edge August 16, 2008 Posted by John Furrier in Technology. Tags: android, google trackback Talk about bleeding edge. Google Android might just be the software platform for developers. Venturebeat has a great post - actually Eric’s story trumpes the NYTimes story imho. [...]
10:25 pm
BroadDev - Unified Communications, Virtualization, Security, and Web 2.0 » Google is building Skynet and Android is the Terminator said:
[...] According to Eric Eldon Android is more than just a phone platform. It’s the weapon on choice in Google’s quest for world domination. The prevailing wisdom is that mobile is the future; that’s no surprise. “Android” has been the codename for google’s mobile phone platform but Eric and John speculate it’s part of a much larger strategy. [...]
3:46 am
Android: More Than Mobile : Beyond Search said:
[...] Venture Beat has an interesting article “Android Wants to Be on Any Device, Not Just Your Phone.” The premise of the write up is that Android may be a cog in a larger operating system initiative. For me, the most interesting statement in this write up by Eric Eldon and Matthaus Krzykowski is The blogosphere hasn’t treated Android well — the SDK has taken many months to get to this stage since it was announced last year. The anti-Android trend will likely continue as commentators compare the HTC and the iPhone (the iPhone is better), and also say the U.S. T-Mobile network is bad (it is). [...]
6:20 am
New Media Reflections » In Search of the Black Box said:
[...] is working on ANDROID, which is a mobile operating system. There is a good article on this at VentureBeat. They will be competing with iPhone, and once again we will see competing systems trying to become [...]
6:36 am
CrunchGear » Archive » Does Google want to expand Android to non-cellphone platforms? said:
[...] is that Google has a lot more in mind for Android than powering some HTC device. Apparently Google wants to expand the operating system to other devices, including portable media players and set-top [...]
7:51 am
Google Have Bigger Plans for Android? said:
[...] Google Have Bigger Plans for Android? Venturebeat have published a speculative article suggesting the ways Google could expand the Android platform to other devices such as portable media players and set-top boxes. The article is pretty much a fictional piece as i cant seem to find any evidence to back up any of the claims, but it does give ou an idea of the many avenues Google could explore with Android - apart from the obvious cellphone market. Article Link [...]
7:52 am
Android Forums said:
Google Have Bigger Plans for Android?…
Venturebeat have published a speculative article suggesting the ways Google could expand the Android platform to other devices such as portable media players and set-top boxes.
The article is pretty ……
5:17 pm
Cheap Computer Monitors » Blog Archive » Does Google want to expand Android to non-cellphone platforms? said:
[...] is that Google has a lot more in mind for Android than powering some HTC device. Apparently Google wants to expand the operating system to other devices, including portable media players and set-top [...]
7:21 pm
Android And The Internet Of Things said:
[...] stop at cell phones. In a speculative, but well-thought-out piece, VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon reports: Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to [...]
8:04 pm
Android And The Internet Of Things | All tech stuff said:
[...] stop at cell phones. In a speculative, but well-thought-out piece, VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon reports: Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to [...]
8:19 pm
Unfortune said:
[...] stop at cell phones. In a speculative, but well-thought-out piece, VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon reports: Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to [...]
8:20 pm
World IT News » Blog Archive » Android And The Internet Of Things said:
[...] stop at cell phones. In a speculative, but well-thought-out piece, VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon reports: Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to [...]
8:32 pm
The Adventures of Captain Obvious said:
[...] Schonfeld of TechCrunch wrote this followup to a recent post on VentureBeat: VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon reports:Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed [...]
9:54 pm
Google Android wants to be on any device, not just your phone « Ignorance Is Futile! said:
[...] Google Android wants to be on any device, not just your phone Venture Beat: [...]
11:20 pm
Android And The Internet Of Things | Article Blog said:
[...] stop at cell phones. In a speculative, but well-thought-out piece, VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon reports: Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to [...]
1:06 am
Technology news - Android And The Internet Of Things said:
[...] As the world waits for the first Android phone to appear in the wild (from T-Mobile), questions are being raised again about whether Google’s Android ambitions will stop at cell phones. In a speculative, but well-thought-out piece, VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon reports: [...]
1:38 am
Android And The Internet Of Things | Christian eBuddy Blog said:
[...] stop at cell phones. In a speculative, but well-thought-out piece, VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon reports: Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to [...]
1:38 am
Android And The Internet Of Things | Christian eBuddy Blog said:
[...] stop at cell phones. In a speculative, but well-thought-out piece, VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon reports: Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to [...]
7:37 am
Does Google want to expand Android to non-cellphone platforms? | Christian eBuddy Blog said:
[...] is that Google has a lot more in mind for Android than powering some HTC device. Apparently Google wants to expand the operating system to other devices, including portable media players and set-top [...]
7:55 am
A look at browsers and music » mathewingram.com/work | said:
[...] designed, delivered and consumed. What exactly that impact is, of course, no one really knows, but there’s no question that Google is thinking about it. function fbs_click() [...]
8:07 am
T e c Z i l l a » Blog Archive » Die Android-Invasion said:
[...] Venturebeat [...]
8:32 am
Google has bigger things in store for Android | SolSie.com said:
[...] sources tell Venturebeat that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to expand it to be a sort of [...]
9:03 am
Haywired 2.0 » Google Android станет универсальной ОС? said:
[...] VentureBeat 17-08-2008 · 20:00 · теги: android, google, iPhone Central, live mesh, open [...]
9:04 am
Google has bigger things in store for Android | Mobiletiro.com said:
[...] sources tell Venturebeat that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to expand it to be a sort of [...]
11:33 am
River Of News 080817 « Svartling said:
[...] Android wants to be on any device, not just your phone & VentureBeat [...]
1:12 pm
Android And The Internet Of Things | Trinitude Network said:
[...] stop at cell phones. In a speculative, but well-thought-out piece, VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon reports: Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to [...]
5:56 pm
cnBeta.COM_Google 谷歌_ Google Android 将入驻多种设备 | The Sky of Daemon! News said:
[...] 本文国际来源：http://venturebeat.com/2008/08/15/android-wants-to-be-on-any-device-not-just-your-phone/ 中文翻译：COMSHARP CM [...]
8:42 pm
Ajax Girl » Blog Archive » Android And The Internet Of Things said:
[...] stop at cell phones. In a speculative, but well-thought-out piece, VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon reports: Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to [...]
6:59 am
Google’s Set Top Boxes offer Android TV said:
[...] those mystical industry sources are back again, it seems!) have apparently informed Eric Edlon of VentureBeat that “…although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to expand it [...]
10:05 am
Vid-Biz: Comcast, MacFarlane, CinemaNow « NewTeeVee said:
[...] What’s the Big Picture for Android? Sources tell VentureBeat that the mobile OS has plans to expand to other devices, such as set-top boxes. (VentureBeat) [...]
10:14 am
When Will Google’s ‘GPhone’ Android Operating System Invade Your Living Room? No Time Soon | Latest Technology News - Business News And Expert Advice said:
[...] (GOOG) supposedly has ambitious plans for Android. VentureBeat thinks it could become a “universal operating system that will span set-top boxes for [...]
4:11 pm
Google’s Android at For Your Reading Pleasure said:
[...] also some talk that it’s more than just a mobile device and might reach TV sets. The iPhone already acts as a universal remote for the Apple products, so this isn’t too big [...]
1:10 am
When Will Google's 'GPhone' Android Operating System Invade Your Living Room? No Time Soon | androidmatter.com said:
[...] (GOOG) supposedly has ambitious plans for Android. VentureBeat thinks it could become a “universal operating system that will span set-top boxes for [...]
2:00 pm
Do You Want Widgets on Your TV? - GigaOM said:
[...] be so bad. Extending Google’s Android open platform to set-top boxes? That seems like it will actually happen too. What do you [...]
2:15 am
Internet TV, not so far now? « MynDelusions said:
[...] Venturebeat speculated recently: Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed start as a mobile [...]
2:24 pm
Android And The Internet Of Things | Semantic Web Search said:
[...] stop at cell phones. In a speculative, but well-thought-out piece, VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon reports: Industry sources tell us that although Android will indeed start as a mobile OS, Google intends to [...]
5:04 pm
T-Mobile Android to raise the bar | Mehmet Akcin's Blog said:
[...] But that isn’t what’s so exciting about Android to me. [...]
9:02 pm
Mobile Google Android to condition people to embrace constant GPS tracking « DC: Infowarrior and Xubuntuphile said:
[...] of such. But this Google Android isn’t even meant for merely just cell phones, it’s meant for virtually any and all palm-sized mobile devices (even MP3 players), set-top boxes for TV’s, and [...]
1:45 pm
Bookmarks about Singularity said:
[...] - bookmarked by 4 members originally found by elev3n on 2008-09-07 Android wants to be on any device, not just your phone " VentureBeat http://venturebeat.com/2008/08/15/android-wants-to-be-on-any-device-not-just-your-phone/ - [...]
10:40 am
Suprablog HQ » Blog Archive » Google Android, iPhone, and Blackberry said:
[...] but it’s a very interesting platform and one that has much more depth than the iPhone. Here’s a great article about where Google might be going with it. It’s a lot like Microsoft’s [...]
4:34 pm
G-Phone ! « Коко Стоянов*MIRAGE™ said:
[...] операционна система за мобилни телефони. Това е универсална платформа, която в бъдеще може да поддържа всяко устройство, [...]