Google reveals cellphone plans

2007-11-06 07:00

New York - Google Inc on Monday lifted the shroud cloaking its long-rumoured plans to enter the cellphone market, saying it was building software to make the internet run more easily on cellphones.

The internet giant confirmed it was working with 30 companies, including some of the world's biggest handset makers and wireless service providers, such as US phone makers Motorola Incand Qualcomm Inc Taiwan's High Tech Computer and German carrier T-Mobile.

Google is looking to expand the range of internet services it now offers through computer browsers to the far larger cellphone market, where a range of conflicting handset designs and software standards have hobbled internet use.

Google said it would hold a conference later in the day to discuss the system with speakers from T-Mobile, owned by Deutsche Telekom, Motorola, and Qualcomm.

The Mountain View, California-based company has set up an industry consortium it calls the Open Handset Alliance and signed up 30 member companies, it said.

It said the software system, known as Android, would be "the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices".

Android was the name of a small start-up Google acquired in 2005 that was founded by Andy Rubin, a veteran Silicon Valley gadget designer, who earlier this decade created the innovative "Sidekick" mobile internet device while at start-up Danger Inc.

Sprint Nextel Corp, the No 3 US mobile service and a member of the alliance, said the system will be based on open-source Linux code and available to phone makers and carriers without licence fees.

It is expected to support applications from different developers as well as Google web search, e-mail and mapping, according to Sprint.

Sprint said it had not committed to putting the software on its phones but was in negotiations with Google about financial terms with a view to offering the system to its customers eventually. Sprint did not give a time frame.

- Reuters