14 DAY TRIAL // The first Android-powered mobile phone was launched about four months ago, and yet the expectations for the platform rise higher and higher every day. According to the latest news on the web, we might be able to see around 40 new handsets running the operating system launched during the ongoing year. At least this is what VentureBeat predicts that would happen.
At the same time, we learned that O2 Germany plans to unveil around 6 to 8 Android handsets in 2009, and that can make fan boys of the OS rejoice. The info has been unveiled at an Official Press Conference at O2 Innovation Days in Germany, when a product manager stated “We want to get out 6 to 8 Android devices this year,” as quoted by a German blog. O2 Germany, a subsidiary of Telefonica and Open Handset Alliance member, is expected to support Android, yet the high number of devices they plan on launching this year comes as a surprise.
On the other hand, Telefonica is placed third in the world in the largest carrier list. The company has 220 million subscribers, and it did well in 2008, but, as the competition with Vodafone and ChinaMobile tightens, it seems that it plans to step on the gas paddle a little this year.
Google Android’s Rich Miner stated on one occasion that Android is “not only an Open Source mobile phone platform that encompasses every layer of the phone, but also a series of phones powered by that platform and a go-to-market strategy to guarantee global distribution of both platform and phones.” The recent O2 statement might suggest that Google managed to convince OHA carriers to move towards that “global distribution of both platform and phones.”
The Android platform will most likely see great success on the market in the near future. According to Qualcomm Chief Executive Paul Jacobs, the OHA is intended to “drive smartphones into the mass market price points under $200.” A small price would give some headaches to more expensive smartphones, but for the time being no official statement on how many Android devices will get launched this year has been made.
As around 80 percent of device sales are controlled by operators, the introduction of a larger number of Android phones to their offerings might give the platform the boost it needs.