A few weeks back we reported on a member of the iPhone Dev Team porting a version of Linux to the iPhone and mentioned the effects of this could be far reaching including the ability to run multiple operating systems including Google's Android OS. Over the past week or so, a major topic of discussion in our iPhone forums has been the subject of whether or not there was an interest in running the Android OS on iPhone hardware.
Earlier this week, planetbeing, a member of the iPhone DevTeam, ported the Linux 2.6 kernel to the iPhone and iPod touch. This is something that has been being worked on for quite a while, as it opens up the possibility to run other OS's, such as Windows Mobile and Android on the iPhone.
Google might be preparing for the launch of the Android powered G1, but they are still very interested in the iPhone and a user base that will top 10 million by year's end. Being the default search engine for mobile Safari has a potential to be a money maker for Google and now comes word they are going to start offering options for advertisers to target iPhone owners directly.
Google has met with a number of ad agencies and shortly, they will be offering a new option to show an iPhone specific ads as part of a companies search campaign. While the iPhone has the capability to show the full Internet, the ads would be mobile specific. For example, and American Airlines ad could have a click to action that would call to book a flight.
With much fanfare, though not nearly the level of showmanship we see from a Steve Jobs keynote, T-Mobile, HTC, and Google execs formally announced the first Android-driven device yesterday. What did we learn about the T-Mobile G1? Let’s recap:
Touchscreen (NOT multi-touch) device with slide-out keyboard (exactly as pictured in previous spy shots)
Quad-band GSM and 3G capable on T-Mobile’s network, currently live in 16 markets in the U.S.
Includes WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 3-megapixel camera
From the start, the iPhone grabbed headlines and mindshare of cell phone junkies, Apple fans, and even many non-tech-heads, and it continues to do so with the explosion of the App Store. With literally thousands of apps available that can help iPhone owners do everything from learn a foreign language to nap on the train without missing their stop, the pressure is on other smartphone makers to keep up. Last winter, Google stepped up to join the fray and announced its own open-source mobile platform and gained the participation of a number of smartphone hardware manufacturers and mobile service providers. Google’s bold plan is coming to fruition tomorrow with the announcement of the first Android handset that will be available through T-Mobile.
How will this impact Apple and the iPhone platform? It’s far too early to tell yet, but it will definitely offer some competition, and free market theory indicates that this should push improvements in quality and price among competitors over time. The important thing to note is that Android is open source and there’s no NDA governing its use, nor will there be an approval process governing the release of apps. This is in stark contrast to Apple, who has come under fire lately because of their decisions to reject some apps recently (PodCaster and MailWrangler), while other, arguably less useful, apps were approved and available from day one. Also, Android’s app distribution will not be limited to their app store, the Android Marketplace - developers will also be able to distribute their Android apps directly to users, compared to the iPhone’s App Store that acts as the only distribution point for 3rd party apps to users, period.
