Two introductions on November 5, 2007 might drastically change the market dynamics of the mobile telecommunications industry. On that date, Google (News - Alert) not only announced the multinational Open Handset Alliance, but also introduced Android, the new software platform designed to provide open access to mobile phones for application developers.

 

The Open Handset Alliance (News - Alert) (OHA), comprised of more than 34 chipmakers, handset manufacturers, and mobile operators,  has been formed to accelerate innovation in mobile and offer consumers a richer, less expensive, and better mobile experience. The objective, OHA says, is to commercially deploy handsets and services using the Android Platform in the second half of 2008.

 

The Alliance emphasizes that it is providing developers a new level of openness that enables them to work more collaboratively, and Android is expected to accelerate the pace at which new and compelling mobile services are made available to consumers.

 

The flexibility of the Android platform and its tag of being open and free are seen as significant developments to minimize the control of mobile operators. Currently, most of the mobile operators function in a closed system, they have a tight control on what applications and features operate on the handsets that use their network.

 

Charles Golvin, analyst at Forrester Research (News - Alert), commented in The New York Times that the long-term potential impact of OHA and its Android platform is to drive the same kind of innovation that is seen on the Internet into the mobile environment.

 

The Internet provides uniform freedom and flexibility to the users, without segregating the users on which brand’s machine they are using. Android is expected to break the control of mobile operators and give mobile users the same experience that they enjoy while surfing on Internet.

 

Analysts also believe that OHA’s open source model will enable companies to realize full integration between custom enterprise applications and field or mobile users, as the platform enables the companies to easily create versions of their custom applications, which operate easily with mobile devices and personnel in the field.

 

The new platform may also simply things for application developers. At present, mobile application developers write code for several different operating systems, and have to consider different user interfaces depending on the phone manufacturer and the carrier.

 

The free distribution of this software is also expected to reduce costs for handset manufacturers; currently most of the manufacturers have to pay for licenses to use Symbian (News - Alert) and Microsoft platform.

 

The Alliance has generated a lot of excitement and interest with the announcement, however, the question is how many mobile operators will shed their inhibitions and allow open devices on their networks.