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Startup a la Mobile Unveils First Google Android Apps

Linux systems platform and open-source mobile tech firm a la Mobile announced its support of Google's Android platform via what it's calling the industry's first demonstration of applications based on the Android application framework.

The Android app suite, running on HTC's Qtek 9090 advanced smartphone, includes a browser, phone dialer, audio player, maps, camera, games, calendar, contacts manager, calculator, tasks manager and notes, some boasting a la Mobile's own enhanced graphical user interface.

According to a la Mobile, its demonstration should allay concerns that Android is not quite ready for primetime. However, the firm also notes that the Android platform is an application framework, not a complete, off-the-shelf software stack.

"Despite the open-source nature of the Android framework, developing a complete mobile system solution with customized, differentiated features continues to present major technical challenges requiring considerable time, effort, and resources--a barrier and reach beyond the scope of many handset vendors," said a la Mobile president and CEO Pauline Lo Alker in a prepared statement.

"Our mission is to remove the complexity for handset vendors and mobile operators to enable them to accelerate their device time-to-market, ensure high quality while reducing total development and device costs. The experience we have gained in putting together this demo will enable us to trim a device's time-to-market by at least half," she added.

"The wireless industry is preparing itself for the growth in the use of Linux as the operating system for smartphones" said Bill Hughes, Principal Analyst with In-Stat. "Some industry participants are seeking to offer mobile Linux platforms that are only partially 'open,'with key interfaces being kept proprietary.

In contrast, a la Mobile is pursuing mobile solutions that are open and support third-party application developers and network partners to provide solutions that apply across multiple platforms. a la Mobile's demonstration of the Android framework on an actual smart device is a concrete example of this vision put into practice. Such efforts support the growth predictions In-Stat has made about the smartphone industry as a whole and the mobile Linux platform in particular." [FierceWireless]

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