Android gets Voda, Sony Ericsson, ARM and more
The Open Handset Alliance has just announced a huge increase in big names signed up for the project. Here's the first paragraph of the press release:
"The Open Handset Alliance, a group of technology and mobile players, is pleased to announce the membership of 14 additional companies. By joining the founding members of the Open Handset Alliance, the following companies demonstrate their support for Android as an open mobile platform and their commitment to its commercial success. The new members are: AKM Semiconductor Inc., ARM, ASUSTek Computer Inc., Atheros Communications, Borqs, Ericsson, Garmin International Inc., Huawei Technologies, Omron Software Co. Ltd, Softbank Mobile Corporation, Sony Ericsson, Teleca AB, Toshiba Corporation and Vodafone."
The implications of this will take some time to sort out, but there are two contradictory ways to see this. On the plus side, this increases Android's chances of creating the sort of strong hardware and software base it needs if it's to become the Windows of the mobile world - in a good way. On the minus, trying to get anything done in mobile becomes exponentially more unlikey to work with the number of separate groups involved. (Sony - made classic consumer electronics. Ericsson - made world-beating mobile phones. Sony Ericsson - not so much).
More on this tomorrow.