Android Phone Tips And Tutorial

New cellular phones powered by Google's mobile operating system could arrive by summer, giving consumers smarter handset choices.

Asus, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba could launch, as soon as next summer, less-expensive cell phones based on Google's Android mobile operating system. Having joined other large handset manufacturers (such as LG, Motorola, and Samsung) in the Open Handset Alliance, the three are prepared to deploy Android-based devices within the coming year.

New cellular phones powered by Google's mobile operating system could arrive by summer, giving consumers smarter handset choices.

Asus, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba could launch, as soon as next summer, less-expensive cell phones based on Google's Android mobile operating system. Having joined other large handset manufacturers (such as LG, Motorola, and Samsung) in the Open Handset Alliance, the three are prepared to deploy Android-based devices within the coming year.

In 2008 Sony Ericsson had no prominent smart phone offerings--that is, unless you count the Xperia 1, which the company finally released after teaser pictures and specs had appeared online for almost a year. And now that the Windows Mobile-powered phone is out, not many people are rushing to purchase it. For their part, both Asus and Toshiba released Windows Mobile devices of their own, too; and aside from the powerful Asus P565, they didn't see much success either.

Clearly, the common denominator underlying the three phone makers' tribulations is Windows Mobile. A majority of users seem to be falling out of love with Microsoft's mobile operating system, driving down sales of handsets based on it (for more on cell phone OSs, see page 54).

The current economic climate likely also factored into the three companies' decision to join the alliance. For product developers, Google's Android is a free alternative to Windows Mobile. Because of Android's open-source nature, Google doesn't require royalties from phone manufacturers that use Android on their handsets. As a result, phone makers will be able to produce cheaper smart phones and sell more devices--an attractive benefit at any time, but especially during this market downturn.

Of course, the companies' efforts mean that consumers will have more smart-phone choices. Currently the only Android phone available is the T-Mobile G1 (find.pcworld.com/62099), which has a promising future. With more phone companies entering the Android camp, however, we will see more diversity--for instance, Sony Ericsson could launch a multimedia-oriented phone, something akin to an Android Walkman, while Toshiba could target business users with its new handsets.