Notes on Android

Dec 21, 2007 – 11:11 by Ryan

Over the holidays we researched Google’s Android. We assembled a lot of information but never finished documenting our analysis. Here are our notes.

In case you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last month, Android is Google’s new mobile operating system. In August of 2005, Google acquired Android from a company founded by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears and Chris White. Android and the Open Handset Alliance were officially announced in November 2007.

Open Handset Alliance

In a move to help mobile carriers escape the pressure from closed and proprietary technologies, Google has created the Open Handset Alliance. This coterie includes Sprint and several strong European and Asian mobile operators. Currently, AT&T and Verizon are noticeably absent on the official member’s page, although there are rumors about their participation floating around.

From a hardware perspective there is a strong list of supporters and from a software/service perspective there is also an impressive list of companies. For years, software companies have had a difficult time gaining real estate on mobile devices. Often, application providers have to port their software to a half a dozen different mobile platforms if they want consistent distribution. With operating conditions like this, it’s no wonder that Google pushed this through.

Developer Contest

In an effort to guarantee developers create Crowdware applications for Android, Google has announced a $10 million competition beginning on January 02, 2008. We think developer competitions are a fantastic way to stimulate market growth. We don’t think competitions like this are for all tech companies, but if you’re able to garner the attention of a large group and the bounty is adequate, you should see good results.

A note to developers: don’t bother writing yet another Twitter-style application for Android. Google recently acquired Jaiku, a Twitter clone. If you want to write a good communication app, mashup all the existing Twitter style APIs (Twitter, Jaiku, Tumblr, etc.) into an innovative interface. Make sure your app has some restraint when pulling data. You’ll kill the battery if you suck on the Internet connection too much.

Alternatives

Bug Labs and OpenMoku are both open source mobile device platforms that engineers might like; however, they don’t have development competitions or the backing of Google.

Wallpaper

If you’re sick of your background Google has provided some desktop images. We imagine these backgrounds are popular at Google :-^