Samantha Rose Hunt01 June 2009, 2:18 PM
Google's free mobile phone OS is about to flood the market on new handsets of all shapes and sizes.
Currently Google Android-based phones are a bit of a curiosity, with only a few models on the market -- the HTC Dream, the newly launched Magic, and a forthcoming Samsung handset.
However by the end of the year, it is estimated that there could be close to twenty phones available to consumers. This week Google discussed its decision to work with eight or nine different manufactures, which it did not name, to deliver these devices to the market.
Interestingly, some of them are expected to be made available in other countries than the US first, which indicates that there may be some smaller regional manufacturers getting onboard (think Kogan... though let's hope these manufacturers have more luck than he did launching his handset.)
According to the New York Times, Andy Rubin, Google’s senior director for mobile platforms claimed that a minimum of 18 Android devices would be available at the end of 2009 (including the two currently available), and that number could push twenty.
This number only includes manufactures working directly with Google, and does not account for those (including the many no-name Chinese equipment manufacturers) that may use the OS independently of Google's help.
According to Rubin the Google licensing tiers for Android range from free, which allows any manufacturer to create a device with access to unlimited applications but Google applications cannot be preloaded on the device.
The next tier calls for the manufacturer and Google to come to terms on a distribution agreement so that Google applications can be included, and the full agreement lets manufactures use the Google logo on their handset in exchange for a promise that access to the Android Market will be made fully available.
Rubin has stated that anywhere from 12 to 14 middle tier devices should hit the market.