Google Gear promises major mobile development

Jun 8, 2007 14:50 GMT  ·  By

Words on the possibility of Google getting involved in the process of developing a mobile software platform have been going by for some time now. Now, this company promises to make serious competition for Windows by introducing such a service.

There is a high chance that Google will support all major operating systems rather than try to create a new one. In order to keep its promise, Google will introduce several elements in the mobile environment as to provide services which are better adapted to mobile phone capabilities.

One of them is the Gears software. This is meant to make it possible for web work to be conducted even when offline. Gear proves to be efficient especially for devices which do not hold a strong internet connections, which also applies to mobile phones. Still, it is hard to believe that cellular carriers will submit to this idea, considering the fact that it would mean significant drops in always-on Internet access, which is more profitable for them.

Google Gear "addresses a major user concern: availability of data and applications when there's no internet connection available, or when a connection is slow or unreliable". Such a software will work with the most important browsers on Mac, Windows and Linux too.

Opera was the first mobile web browser to adopt Google Gear immediately as they have seen its advantages. "Opera and Google share the common goal of making web applications richer and more robust," said H?kon Wium Lie, chief technology officer at Opera Software. "Developers have long desired the functionality and flexibility Google Gears can offer browsers".

This new solution comes after Google has already offered Gmail and Maps to mobile phone users. New apps are most important when it comes to adapting applications to handset use. In order to make this possible, Google has worked with AT&T, Sprint Nextel and several other European operators.