After HTC, it's Motorola that is readying to jump on to the Android bandwagon.
Motorola is likely to launch a handset in the second quarter of 2009 that will be based on Google's newly released Android operating system, according to a report in BusinessWeek.
Motorola's phone will have an Apple iPhone-like touchscreen (which phone doesn't these days!), a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and "social network-friendly features," says the report.
It's no surprise that Motorola is taking to Android, the latest mobile operating system from Google. The first Android based phone, HTC & T-Mobile's G1 phone, has received positive reviews for the operating system though the hardware didn't meet with the same level of approval.
Source : wired.com
For Motorola which has been struggling to turn around its handset business, betting on Android could be the right move. The company is already one of the members of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) which promotes Android.
"Motorola is pleased to see the industry enthusiasm and support of the Android operating system," said a company spokesperson in an emailed statement. "As a pioneer in mobile Linux and a founder of OHA, Motorola believes Android promises to be one of the most powerful, flexible and customizable open platforms, enabling truly integrated mobile hardware, software and web experiences."
"We’re excited about the innovation possibilities on Android, and look forward to delivering great products in partnership with Google and the Open Handset Alliance community," added Motorola.
Timing though will be the company's biggest challenge, says Michael Gartenberg, vice president of Jupitermedia on his MobileDevicesToday blog.
"In the past Motorola's shown off lots of cool stuff that took way too long to get to market," says Gartenberg. "It's likely we will see an next iteration of HTCs handset by the time Motorola ships."
That means Motorola will face have to compete against the second generation of Android devices and not what's on the market currently, he says.
Motorola will also have to contend with rivals LG and Samsung who are expected to release handsets based on the Android OS next year.
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