FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - British chip designer ARM (ARM.L: Quote, Profile, Research) will show a prototype mobile phone based on Google's (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Android platform next Monday at the Mobile World Congress wireless show in Barcelona, a source close to the company said on Thursday.
Google and ARM declined to comment on the report.
Deutsche Telekom's (DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) T-Mobile and Taiwan's High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC) (2498.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) have said that they plan to offer phones based on the open-source Android software platform this year.
Internet search leader Google may upset the wireless industry with its software system designed to make the Web as smoothly accessible from mobile devices as from PCs, challenging Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research), Microsoft (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Apple (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research).
It is also bidding for wireless spectrum in the United States in a move that pits it against entrenched carriers like AT&T (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Verizon Wireless (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research).
Its operator partners in the Open Handset Alliance announced in November include China Mobile (0941.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), NTT DoCoMo (9437.T: Quote, Profile, Research), KDDI (9433.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and Telefonica (TEF.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) -- which have all said they are working with handset makers to develop Google-based phones.
Research firm Strategy Analytics has estimated that Android will be in two percent of smartphones this year.
Wow. Will this slam another nail into the coffin of the once mighty Palm empire? I wonder if Lotus Notes Traveler will be available for it by Lotusphere 2009?
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