Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 31, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
This latest rumour about Google’s mobile-telephony ambitions is surprising in that Dell is not currently among the members of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) http://www.openhandsetalliance.com formed around Google’s Android platform. A “Google Phone” in cooperation with Dell outside the OHA would therefore mean competition for existing OHA partners such as Motorola and Samsung.
The ideas about Android’s further development are more concrete. “HTC and other manufacturers will present Android-based devices in the second half of the year,” Gartner analyst Roberta Cozza says in response to a pressetext enquiry. The companies had already committed themselves to this. It was also conceivable that product announcements could be brought forward at the GSM Mobile World Congress or that new OHA partners might be presented.
Google itself has at least pushed back an Android timetable this week. The deadline for participation in the first round of the Android Developer Challenge was extended to April 14. This is apparently connected with an improved version of the Android Software Development Kit that is to be release in the coming weeks.
