Google's Android mobile operating system is picking up steam. The latest evidence is a move by ARM, the low-power chip design company, to create an Android Solutions Center that will make it easier for companies to build Android-based gadgets.
The solution center consists of a bunch of tools that companies can use to create their own Android hardware, built around ARM's chips, said James Bruce, mobile segment manager for ARM, in an interview. More than 35 companies are joining the group in support of Android gadgets.
The solutions center can share development resources and other learnings from among the gadget makers. Ziilabs, for instance, has a design of a $150 circuit board that can be used to create a gadget based on the Android software. A major new wave of Android devices is expected to hit the market in 2010, Bruce said.
"A lot of devices are in development and we are confident this move will accelerate that," he said.
ARM's aim in supporting the Android effort is to get more gadgets on the market that use ARM chips
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