Re-Strike

The Android OS for mobile phones was unveiled about 6 months ago by Google. Before Google unveiled their new open source mobile operating system, there had talk about Google creating a "gPhone". Instead of Google creating their own mobile phone they decided to create an open source operating system that could run on all phones. Android has its own SDK so users can create and edit all of Androids programs and utilities. Google has also hosted an Android Developers Challenge where developers who build apps for the Android platform can win up to $10 million. Google has done this to encourage developers and users alike to try out the new OS and to develope cool programs that will run smootly on Android phones.

Recently Android has been seen on a touch screen prototype phone from HTC. The Welcome screen is what you would expect, it has all of your basic applications such as phone, messaging, IM, camera, maps, calendar, alarm clock, and a browser. The Android OS is highly integrated with services such as Google Docs and Google Calendar for obvious reasons, so users can access their documents and appointments from anywhere on the web. The HTC Android Dream Phone also ran very smoothly with Google Maps, Google Street View, and loaded very quickly since it can run on a 3G network. The HTC phone features a desktop like interface so users can place various icons on it. The phone also features a compass and an accelerometer that can be used to browse through Street View and Google Maps.

Android based phones are set to be release sometime during the second half of this year. Many companies such as HTC, Samsung, and Nokia have promised Android based phones within a year. Since Android is open source users will also be able to install Android on their own mobile phones. So you may not want to buy that new iPhone just yet.