Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor
"The demo was very impressive in terms of showing off yet again a completely new user interface than what we've seen previously," said Avi Greengart, a wireless analyst at Current Analysis. "There are some nice innovations, such as a bar at the top which could be expanded to give you control over the notifications. You can touch the notification bar and jump to whatever you were being notified about."
Speeding Up Smartphone Innovation
The Open Handset Alliance promises Android will deliver a complete set of software for mobile devices: an operating system, middleware and key mobile applications. The alliance's 34 companies first released an Android software development kit last November.
The alliance is betting Android will better position developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. The end result, the group pledged, will be a mobile platform that makes way for wireless operators and manufacturers to give their customers better, more personal and more flexible mobile experiences.
One of the platform innovations that could live up to that promise is a new way to unlock phones by drawing a specific shape on the touchscreen. That would do away with the need to enter a password. Android also makes room for bookmarks for favorite Web sites on the device's home page. And a compass tool automatically roams with the phone's user.
"For all practical purposes they showed a live view of the mapping engine tied to what direction you are actually standing in, and that was really cool," Greengart said. "They are definitely showing some of the innovation they plan to launch around the Android platform, and the user interface is much more sophisticated than previous versions."
When Will Android Phones Come To Market?
There was no news on when the final platform will be released, though. Andy Rubin, who is overseeing the project, said Android will be available to handset makers sometime during the second half of the year. But that doesn't mean Samsung, HTC, LG or other handset makers will necessarily launch a phone running the new platform that quickly.
"It is worth noting that Android definitely still seems like a major work in progress as opposed to a stable operating system like what we have from Microsoft and Symbian and even Apple," Greengart said.
Google noted with pride, he continued, that a clock shown during the demo was just coded the day before. That caused Greengart to wonder when the Open Handset Alliance might be ready to launch a commercial bulletproof product.
"The fact that Google's involved gives it a brand boost. But at the end of the day, consumers don't buy operating systems. They buy products. If the Google Android-based product is competitive with what Sony Ericsson, Nokia, RIM, Apple, Samsung and LG are doing, then it will find a market. If it's not, then the fact that it has Google Maps on it won't matter," Greengart said. "There are other devices with Google Maps."
0 comments:
Post a Comment