Android welcomes Sony Ericsson and Vodafone

So far T-Mobile is the only network, and HTC the only manufacturer, to have brought us a Google-tastic Android phone (well, excluding that one Australian effort). Now though, more could be climbing on board. The Open Handset Alliance, the group of companies that came together to build Android, has just welcomed 14 new members to its right-on clique - and there are some interesting names among them.

On the manufacturer side there's Eee PC and smartphone-maker Asus , dongle-maker extraordinaire Huawei ,  Sony Ericsson and sat nav firm turned maker of a mythical Nuvifone, Garmin. Also conspicuous is the mobiling giant Vodafone, which suggests it isn't prepared to stand by and let T-Mobile have all the Android fun. Click on for more.

The alliance says: "New members will either deploy compatible Android devices, contribute significant code to the Android Open Source Project, or support the ecosystem through products and services that will accelerate the availability of Android-based devices."

We're hoping it signals a bundle of new devices and more networks to use them on - the novelty of the G1's spring loaded keyboard is wearing a little thin.

Press release:

Open Handset Alliance announces 14 new members

December 9, 2008 - 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.

New members will either deploy compatible Android devices, contribute significant code to the Android Open Source Project, or support the ecosystem through products and services that will accelerate the availability of Android-based devices. With these commitments, the Open Handset Alliance will continue to drive greater and faster innovation for the benefit of mobile users and everyone in the industry.

Open Handset Alliance members' continued contributions to Android give everyone in the mobile ecosystem a free and complete mobile platform to build Android devices. The new members will add to the momentum of Android device availability, providing developers with an even greater opportunity to deploy compelling applications that will reach a global audience. As a result, consumers around the world benefit from a superior mobile experience that features less expensive devices, more compelling services, rich Internet applications, and easier-to-use interfaces.

For more information around the Open Handset Alliance, visit www.openhandsetalliance.com. (For more information around this announcement, take a look at the "What's New" section.)

For more information around Android, visit www.android.com.

 

Originally published on www.mobilecomputermag.co.uk, now incorporated into Broadband Genie
© Dennis Publishing

 

 

 

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