Any frequent reader of Techgeist knows well that we’re big fans of Google’s Android operating system for mobile phones. I wanted to spend a little time focusing in on just why that is. HTC, so far the most prolific maker of handsets running Android, announced yesterday that users of the HTC Magic (known as the myTouch 3G here in the states) would be able to download the Sense user interface later come this October. Sense is the name of the UI provided on the HTC Hero, and many see it is a real improvement over the plain Android interface. This exemplifies the freedom one has running Android.
Android provide users with a level of choice which is totally unavailable on other platforms (iPhone, Palm Pre, etc). First and foremost is the choice of devices. You can find Android devices in all shapes and sizes. The popular choice for developers these days is the mostly-touchscreen format that we see on the HTC Magic and the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy i7500. But as you might recall, the first Android phone to market was the G1, which features a slide-out keyboard quite prominently. That whole glut of Motorola phones running Android, which will probably be out within the year, are going to come in all shapes and sizes. Hell, there’ll probably be Android fliphones for those who still want them (not sure why you would, but the possibility is there).
Symbian fans will note that Nokia has made phones running Symbian in all sorts of formfactors for years, but Nokia certainly has not encouraged third-parties to make new user interfaces for Symbian. Well, Android has. Following the Sense UI, which HTC loaded onto the Hero handset, Motorola is planning to create a number of phones running their own Blur interface, which sources claim will have real-time data pull a la the Palm Pre. We’re starting Android develop into a platform where both hardware and software differentiate how you as a user interact with your device.
And this is why the Android platform is so brilliant. Google is basically giving away the foundations and framework of buildings to anyone who wants them. The takers are then free to flesh out the designs however they choose. That allows Google to gain major control over the smartphone market. One of my friends frequently points out that this prevents Android from ever being as instantly recognizable as an iPhone. But from a business perspective, who cares? Mac computers are sexy and all, but do you think that Microsoft would want to change places with Apple? So while many other smartphone platforms are beginning to seem like the Henry Fords of yore (”any color – so long as it’s black”), Android seems to be going the Ben and Jerry’s route: lots of flavors, lots of choices.
