Open Handset Alliance signs up 14 more Android-lovers, including Sony Ericsson, ASUS and Garmin

The Open Handset Alliance just made a major score with 14 more members: AKM Semiconductor Inc., ARM, ASUSTek Computer Inc. (previously rumored), Atheros Communications, Borqs, Ericsson, Garmin International Inc., Huawei Technologies, Omron Software Co. Ltd, Softbank Mobile Corporation, Sony Ericsson, Teleca AB, Toshiba Corporation and Vodafone. That's not quite everyone that matters, but pretty darn close. Were we to climb not-very-far onto the limb of conjecture, we might posit that Garmin might be looking at Andoid for its much-delayed nuviföne, or some sort of followup, while the emergence of an ASUS "Eee Phone" or a XPERIA X1 running Android (Sony Ericsson may very well be the biggest win here, consumer-wise) would be welcome moves from those manufacturers. We'd say at this point the holdouts are starting to stick out more than the actually OHA members, which spells good things for the industry no matter what specific hardware is the fruit of this relationship... but seriously guys, build us some more Android phones.

[y3k.nik @ Dec 9th 2008 11:14AM]

Maybe I can get X1 like phone with Andriod for less than $400 unlocked! I will get it in a heart beat.

[haX0r @ Dec 9th 2008 3:06PM]

Agreed. Android + X1 = I'm Sold!

[Jeremy K. @ Dec 9th 2008 11:15AM]

I'll be happy once I start seeing more Android phones on the market.

[Alan @ Dec 9th 2008 2:20PM]

I agree as well. It will be very cool when we can port apps very easily form different phones on different markets because they all run android. What I am worried about for example, I don't use cdma networks but when and if android powered devices hit sprint and verizon will they cripple android with lame 3 party modifications like they do with every other device they sell. Tmobile's G1 (I own it) is pretty clean aside from the sim lock. Tmobile did not add any branding crap. Another way of thinking about it is Motorola's operating system in most their phones. Compare a GSM razor (unlocked or branded to any provider) with it's CDMA network equivalent.

[Mycroft @ Dec 9th 2008 11:15AM]

So where are the phones already?

[Fusion Fuzo 006 - Mr Professional @ Dec 9th 2008 11:17AM]

NICE, but sounds bad for microsoft with these free operating systems.

[capagotks @ Dec 9th 2008 11:22AM]

ah, but thats where "its too good to be true" comes into play. i would be be a bit skeptical of anything for FREE*, especially an operating system.

*Terms & Conditions Apply

[Fyre Flareon @ Dec 9th 2008 11:32AM]

Because the many already-free versions of Linux have put such a huge dent into Microsoft's market share, right?

Even if Microsoft disappears from the world of phones, I doubt anybody at Redmond will be crying at night over it.

[savocado @ Dec 9th 2008 11:33AM]

OMG, pls tell me u r a troll.
If not GTFO. If yes - also.

[Nomi @ Dec 9th 2008 11:41AM]

Wouldn't Google have to license Exchange to get to business users? I dunno how it works but MS could probably make money off that too.

[Mike @ Dec 9th 2008 12:44PM]

Why is this comment low ranked? He's got a point.....

[paul @ Dec 9th 2008 12:46PM]

Linux - You get what you pay for! (TM)

[KarlW @ Dec 9th 2008 1:04PM]

@Nomi Yes, Microsoft will take licensing fees if Google does seek a license for Android. Not giving them a license would probably end with an antitrust suit. That said, Google don't (I believe) make any money from Android, so I'm not sure where the licensing money would come from. They could charge handset manufacturers a small fee to cover the licensing.

Microsoft could be tempted to reduce licensing costs if having all phones compatible with Exchange would give them greater profit through increased sales of Exchange. Their accountants will need to go through the figures and determine if the projected increased Exchange sales would more than make up for the lost licensing fees. I seriously doubt Google would pay to license Exchange.

[Andir3.0 @ Dec 9th 2008 1:36PM]

Google includes POP mail for free... customers buy Exchange Server module ... at least that's how I'd do it. Let the customers know why Microsoft is costing them.

[Temo @ Dec 9th 2008 11:19AM]

Well I hope they get something around June. That is when I will get my new phone.

[xchekox @ Dec 9th 2008 11:20AM]

Imagine a X1a with Android... Uh.. .So sexy :D

[a ham sandwich @ Dec 9th 2008 11:33AM]

you know, i thought the exact same thing. but then i had an out of body experience and it occurred to me. "wow. THAT is why its so damn hard for me to get laid, isn't it?"

[KarlW @ Dec 9th 2008 1:05PM]

Not if you have USB-shaped genitalia it isn't.

[bobby @ Dec 9th 2008 3:05PM]

What is X1 ?

[Shea @ Dec 9th 2008 4:15PM]

@bobby:
http://letmegooglethatforyou.com/?q=sony+ericsson+xperia+x1

[fett327 @ Dec 9th 2008 11:21AM]

So what exactly do you need to do to be in the open handset alliance? Is it just a club any company can join? Does it force you to do anything positive regarding open source handsets, or are people just joining for the publicity?

[y3k.nik @ Dec 9th 2008 11:30AM]

From the read link

"New members will either deploy compatible Android devices, contribute significant code to the Android Open Source Project, or support the ecosystem through products and services that will accelerate the availability of Android-based devices"

[Todd @ Dec 9th 2008 11:32AM]

This is just the beginning of Androids reach and scope. Not just phones but MIDs, kiosks, cars, industrial machinery, scientific measuring devices, on and on...

Nothing, absolutely nothing, beats a completely free, Open Source platform. Get yours, do something awesome with it.

http://www.android.com

[Marin @ Dec 9th 2008 12:46PM]

"Nothing, absolutely nothing, beats a completely free, Open Source platform."


Well, it's not actually completely free open source platform because of the Apache 2.0 license which will enable operators and handset manufacturers to create proprietary apps and skins on top that don't have to have their source code publicly available. Plus, it's definitely a Google-dominated thing.

Still, an X1 with Android could be sweet. Overall, I like it because the competition and traction will force the other guys to get better, which is better for consumers.

[Khattab @ Dec 9th 2008 11:35AM]

Good decision. 2009 is gonna be a very interesting year (first for a long time) in the mobile market:

Android (Google)
WM 7 (Microsoft)
Mac OS X (Apple)
Blackberry OS (RIM)

All major mobile SW companies are getting into a huge battle about the way devices are being "touched". We as customers are in the best position - 'cause we will win either this or that way. Leeeeet's get ready to ruuuuuuuuuuumble!

[Jeremy K. @ Dec 9th 2008 11:39AM]

The iPhone doesn't run OS X.

[idiot @ Dec 9th 2008 11:42AM]

i believe it does

[Labrador @ Dec 9th 2008 11:54AM]

Aren't you forgetting the big gorilla in the room? Nokia still has 40%+ market share.

[Patriks7 @ Dec 9th 2008 11:56AM]

Actually, some of the reviews I saw stated that it runs (or is based on) OS X Tiger..

[Fnuky @ Dec 9th 2008 12:01PM]

Except that WM7 isn't coming out this year... 2010 at the earliest.

[dvsbstrd @ Dec 9th 2008 12:15PM]

Symbian would like to have a word with you.

[chefgon_ign @ Dec 9th 2008 12:37PM]

Eh, as a consumer in the US I feel perfectly fine ignoring Symbian. It essentially doesn't even exist in this country. Once Nokia starts pushing some consumer oriented S60 handsets on one of the big four carriers here, then maybe they'll be worth a glance. Until then, it's just one of those things for the cats in Europe.

[Khattab @ Dec 9th 2008 12:43PM]

I'm talking about High-End, high-priced phones. I don't think that symbian is going to be relevant in that area in the near future. Nokia's efforts are clearly headed into another direction, because they still don't understand what power Apple and Google have - they clearly underestimated both of 'em and they don't really act as if they would understand which market developments take place right now and what customers want - today.

@Fnuky: I don't think so. We will see WM7 in 2009, MS would loose this battle if WM7 is realeased too late. And I'm pretty sure they are aware of the situation they're in right now (by being surpased by the iPhone [alone] in terms of unit sales).

[Rick @ Dec 9th 2008 12:49PM]

"All major mobile SW companies are getting into a huge battle about the way devices are being "touched"."

I don't want to hear about the way you "touch" your phone.

[Patriks7 @ Dec 9th 2008 12:51PM]

"it's just one of those things for the cats in Europe."

Seriously? From what I'm seeing here, Europe is light years ahead of the US in phones and carriers..
But who am I kidding, Engadget is the one after all that tried to bash the N97 before it even is out, while it will be the best phone for the next couple years, like the N95 was until now..

[KarlW @ Dec 9th 2008 1:11PM]

The iPhone does run OSX, it just doesn't have the "Aqua" UI layer. It has its own UI layer, and a few other frameworks like Cocoa Touch.

I think Microsoft's dropped the ball with WinMo. They're going to have to create some kick-ass features if they want anybody to choose them over Android. I think they're going to drop WinMo and either focus on working with Android to beat the iPhone through better compatibility, or work with RIM to create a new OS that runs on future BlackBerrys and supports touch properly.

[Félix @ Dec 9th 2008 1:20PM]

You might want to add S60 and Meamo 5 to this list since Nokia owns 40% of market share...

[Poom @ Dec 9th 2008 3:56PM]

Khattab, you are so... soooooooooo WRONG.

The N97 is probably the most high-end device announced right now.

On another note, I'm happy to see that SE is gonna use Android too. I think SE shouldn't have bothered with WM and S60 in the first place and focus purely on Android, since there have already been so many WM and S60 phones around already.

[Yem @ Dec 9th 2008 11:37AM]

Quick question for G1 owners. Is cut'n'paste completely ubiquitous across apps? ie copy text from one app, paste into another?

I've just picked up my first Nokia S60 phone and been pretty disappointed with how fragmented it is eg problems pasting between notes, web, Opera, sms, etc.

[chefgon_ign @ Dec 9th 2008 12:41PM]

Yes, you can copy-paste universally between apps, but the actual text that you're allowed to copy is fairly limited. If you can't paste there, you can't copy from there either. It's pretty much limited to input boxes only.

There are some weird exceptions to that, I believe you can copy an entire email and paste it somewhere else, but I can't think of any scenario where that might be helpful.

Bottom line: you can't highlight text, so your copying options are limited.

[JWC @ Dec 9th 2008 12:44PM]

Yeah, it's pretty universal. However I'm not sure if you can select part of a textbox (if you can, I haven't figured out how). Basically you can cut/copy the entire contents from any textbox and paste in to any other textbox.

[Labrador @ Dec 9th 2008 11:42AM]

Being a member doesn't necessarily mean you are going to build a phone. It's always good to keep an eye on what the competition is doing and if they invite you into their kitchen why refuse?

[Mute @ Dec 9th 2008 11:45AM]

Finally the death of UIQ!

[chizenguy5 @ Dec 9th 2008 11:47AM]

Am I the only one who's really excited about the idea of a Garmin GPS system with Android. I'm not really giddy about Asus or Sony Ericsson, I don't think Android has enough magic to make me want to buy into their products.

[Al @ Dec 9th 2008 4:55PM]

I already have one on my Nokia N82

[kjb434 @ Dec 9th 2008 11:48AM]

So what this tells me is that Android will become a base OS for most phones including the free ones (although the OS will be massively crippled on them).

The few higher end phones with Android would be more free for tinkering.

What this does is get all phone manufacturers out of the proprietary OS business that has been the model for phones for years.

I see a flood of crappy Android phones that are essentially generic phones with a camera that happens use Android now.

There will be a few good Android phones that build on G1.

I just don't see this as the panacea people are making it out to be.

[Mark Perrin @ Dec 9th 2008 11:53AM]

Its like a whose who of struggling companies after the Iphone stole their thunder. Man even Sony are on there after announcing that they were struggling in the wake of the iphone. Android shows some promise but its the Linux of phones. Im not overly excited. I sold my G1 because it was cr@p, i prefer my iphone, im sure there are many that dissagree. But if someone didnt like the iphone OS, then why would they like it any more on a different handset? Answer, they wouldnt. I dont think the iphone is all things to all people, but neither is Android. And with a name like that it sounds Geeky.

[Zombiotic @ Dec 9th 2008 2:14PM]

Android *is* geeky.

:D

[Kyle @ Dec 9th 2008 12:00PM]

The biggest win here is Vodaphone. Vodaphone's 45% share of Verizon Wireless will hopefully push them towards using an Android device. Thats how Verizon got the Storm.

[Sarig @ Dec 9th 2008 12:19PM]

Am I the only one who's not cheering wildly for Android?

I much prefer an open platform over open source. I don't want to sell my soul to google on something as personal as a phone, and I certainly want to be in control of my own data usage, not to mention what programs I can have on it.

Both WinMo and Symbian gives the user control, regardless of the openness of the source-code, anyone can make programs for them without it having to be approved by the mothership, and there's no dead-mans-switch.