Android to Power iDEN, WiMAX Phones

Google's Android operating system, which is present on the market for about a year now, seems determined to gain an even higher market share than it already has, and also aims at mobile technologies where it hasn't been present before, such as iDEN and WiMAX. According to the latest news around the web, while the traction towards Android-based mobile phone is on the rise, handset vendor Motorola is considering the launch of an iDEN Android phone, while D2 Technologies, Beceem Communications and ECS joined forces on loading the platform on a WiMAX-enabled smartphone.

There are not too many details on the aforementioned Motorola iDEN phone that will run under the Google Android operating system, except maybe for the fact that it sports the codename of Motorola Opus One. The guys over at BGR have got their hands on some images with the phone, which can be seen at the bottom of this article, and they claim that it looks “as heard before.” However, the exact specifications of this device lack at the moment, yet it might not be too long before they will emerge into the wild.

As for the step Android is expected to make into the WiMAX area, it should be enabled by a joint cooperation between D2 Technologies, Beceem Communications and ECS, recent reports show. These companies are reportedly working on including the Android OS on smartphones that come with VoIP over WiMAX and other communications capabilities. D2 and Beceem already announced the completion of a VoIP call over WiMAX on Android through the use of a Zoom OMAP34x-II mobile development platform and of Beceem's BSCM250 WiMAX modem.

Overall, the Android platform is gaining momentum, it seems. During the third quarter of the ongoing year, it managed to account for 5.4 percent of the smartphone market in Western Europe, up from the 4.2 percent it registered in the second quarter, reports IDC. According to the research firm, shipments were boosted by the launch of Android phones with a larger number of carriers around the world. However, IDC also says that there are too few Android phones available at the moment, but that should change as more phones from LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and other vendors will arrive on the market.