The Rise of the Androids Redux - Klaatu barada nikto!

Jason Lackey

By now many have likely at least seen an Android phone and the device fetishists amongst us have probably even played with one. The first of the line, the HTC/TMobile G1, is a strong first effort with one of the best browser experiences on the market. Indeed, it is largely because of the browser that noted pundits such as Om Malik put the G1 in the rarified superphone category, along with the iPhone, upcoming Pre and high end Blackberries.

HTC has followed up the G1 with the Magic, which looks to be a serviceable piece. HKC, a Chinese maker, has the dualboot Pearl. Samsung's I7500 should be in stores very soon now and has every indication of being a very desirable piece.

Matt Richtel, of The New York Times reports that Andy Rubin, who runs Google's mobile efforts, announced 18-20 devices at Google I/O (developer conference in SF). The thing about open source is that anyone who wants to can run the basic stack and there will be phones running Android that Google has never heard of. I am sure that many of the blossoming Chinese makers will be unable to resist the combination of pricing (free) and features (good).

At InnoPath, we have seen considerable interest from a variety of directions, domestic and otherwise, in device management for Android. We announced support for Android on 23 September, 2008. Back then there was a lot of curiousity, but now we are seeing indications that real people are building a lot of real phones and they are looking for device management and other solutions for Android now. Personally I am really looking forward to seeing some of Motorola's efforts, rumor is that they are on their way to being an almost exclusively Android shop. I would love to have an "American" phone with software from Mountain View, where I live ;-)