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The big news today is that Google will not have a Gphone but hopes to provide open-source software that will power cell phones around the world. That’s very exciting but apparently Canada is not included.

Google will offer free software to anyone who wants it under the relaxed terms of an open-source license, which will allow developers to view the source code for that software. “Today’s announcement is more ambitious than any single ‘Google Phone’ that the press has been speculating about,” Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in a statement. “Our vision is that the powerful platform we’re unveiling will power thousands of different phone models.” This will all happen under an umbrella group called the Open Handset Alliance.

Eight carriers have agreed to ship handsets based on the Google platform: Sprint and T-Mobile U.S.A. in the United States, NTT DoCoMo and KDDI in Japan, T-Mobile International in 10 European countries and the United Kingdom, China Mobile, Telefonica in Spain and Telecom Italia.

The list of the supporters of the Open Handset Alliance includes most of her the movers and shakers in the industry: Aplix, Ascender Corporation, Audience, Broadcom, China Mobile, eBay, Esmertec, Google, HTC, Intel, KDDI, Living Image, LG, Marvell, Motorola, NMS Communications, Noser, NTT DoCoMo, Nuance, Nvidia, PacketVideo, Qualcomm, Samsung, SiRF, SkyPop, SONiVOX, Sprint Nextel, Synaptics, TAT – The Astonishing Tribe, Telecom Italia, Telef?nica, Texas Instruments, T-Mobile, Wind River

One perhaps not surprising non-participant is AT&T, the sole U.S. carrier to offer the Apple iPhone. Since Rogers is associated with AT&T in the iPhone and Rogers has been extremely tardy in supporting the Mobile Web, there are no obvious signs that Google Phones will be here any time soon. It would seem to be a glorious opportunity for one of the Rogers competitors to take an end run around Rogers and offer such Google phones. How else will Canada ever develop any strength on the Mobile Web?

Related:
Google unveils mobile-phone software strategy – Mercury News
Google confirms its mobile Linux plans – ZDnet
Google’s Android Arrives: Not Gphone But An Open Source Mobile Phone Platform – SearchEngineLand
A ?phone for Christmas
Where’s my Gphone? – Official GoogleBlog
Mobile Web – O Canada
Mobile Web Canada

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 5th, 2007 at 5:26 pm and is filed under Cell phones, Mobile. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.