San Ramon, CA based a la mobile has become the first company to offer a complete package of applications based on Google’s Android mobile phone operating system.
A a la mobile demo unit includes a Google browser, phone dialer, audio player, Google maps, camera, games, calendar, contacts manager, calculator and notes installed on a HTC Qtek 9090.
According to a USA Today report, although a la mobile is not a member of the Open Handset Alliance, it intends to pitch the prototype to handset makers.
Andy Rubin, Google’s senior director of mobile platforms told the paper that the coalition is on track to roll out an official Android-based phone in the second half of this year.
This looks pretty cool. Let’s just hope that the google browser is good. So far, my experiences with mobile browsers have not been very good because they only show a small portion of the screen.
http://www.webepags.com
I’m looking forward to test it. HTC is a portuguese company by the way, and you can have more info at the official site:
http://www.htc.com.pt/
I think the problem for mobile devices right now is a lack of real power. Im sure they could put faster chips in them, but they’d suck up a ton of battery life. All of these fancy browswers work shitty with a slow processor and low amount of memory
I cant wait for an Android phone!
I have faith that they will do good with it, and that the browser will work well (my only gripe with current phones).
The open source aspect has made me confident that this should work, because of the ability for anyone to develop.
I cant wait till this fall when Im due for another phone!
*Dugg*
Darn … I am going to have to get yet another cell phone. So … to the collection of 2 Treos, 2 Blackberries and 1 iPhone, now … I need to add a gPhone
This is ridiculous. People are chasing Android, without understanding anything about it, like bees on honey. Have they actually looked at what Android is? About this startup, they just want to get some marketing exposure and hence jumped on the bandwagon. From what I understand they already had a Linux based BSP for cell phone vendors. So why Android?
Gosh. Chase whatever Google spits out, just for some recognition…..
are you serious?
Sorry Google isn’t going to track what’s in my pocket – under the disguise “free phone” & “open source”.
This phone won’t be for free. Consumers will pay huge price – called privacy.
NO thanks!
Perhaps the implications of “open source” aren’t familiar to “no thanks.”
I’m not sure how Google are going to “track what’s in your pocket”- if the platform’s open source, then that means any tracking going on can be identified and removed.
@9
yeah, right! Is Google for non-profit org?
Are you familiar with ODMs who will make handsets?
You can have the Android phone!
(if it ever becomes reality!)
@no thanks
please look up the definition of “open source” before you embarrass your anonymousnass any further.
@11
You clearly don’t understand mobile space.
(BTW, I have been in open source space for 8+ years)
You can buy the Android phone too!
If it ever becomes reality.
@10- No, Google isn’t a non-profit organisation. But where do you think they make their money?
The more people are online, and the more time they spend online, the more adverts they get to see, so the more money Google make. Obviously, there’s more to it than that, but not much. As the web grows, Google profits.
And who is going to be the biggest competitor to Android, that stands to lose market share with their second rate mobile OS? (Come to that, do you know who makes the software for the handset it was demoed on? Maybe I’ve already bought my android phone- it’s just a case of finding a way to wipe out the proprietary OS installed on it, which I simply can’t examine to see what it is that it’s sending back to Redmond every so often…)
Not that I’m under any illusion that Google *don’t* know what I’m doing- why would they even need some sort of built in spyware to track people’s online activities? Don’t you think that every page with a Doubleclick advert and every site using Google Analytics are going to track your use of the mobile web, just because you choose a non-Google handset? (And that’s even if you’re not one of the ~85% of people online who use a Google-branded site, they still have a very good idea what you’re doing. Of course, that still leaves you with Microsoft and Yahoo and their associated ad networks/ad servers to worry about…)
Ok….so where are the pictures of this build running on an HTC Blue Angel. So far, all I see is words. Where’s the YouTube video ? Where are the screenshots posted on their company website ?
All valid questions, and I’m surprised that TechCrunch’s reporter
A) Didn’t make a mention of it in the article
B) Didn’t post any links, if indeed there are links to said resources.
…..all I see ARE words… ( my apologies to the Grammiti-nazi’s )
this is a great VC bet…if android launches well, its the only hope to break apple’s value-added handset monopoly in the US. these guys will be well positioned!