October 11, 2009 by Adam
Android has been gaining significant marketing momentum over the last 6 or so months. I religiously follow daily posts on www.fiercewireless.com and I'd say just about everyday there is a post about Android: a new model being announced, a carrier rumored to sell an Android based handset, an announcement from Google on the latest release, etc. Unfortunately, they marketing hype hasn't exactly translated into Android devices getting into the hands of real users. That fact is looking like it is going to quickly change.
There are some big things going on, that I expect to have a major impact on Android adoption.
1. Verizon welcomes Google with open arms. Based purely around Verizon's openness initiative, this Verizon and Google announcement last week really gave Android the credibility it needed to become more
mainstream. Combined with Verizon's network Android based devices are a great alternative to the ATT/iPhone combo. Verizon has announced or rumored a number of devices - one of which will likely be a Motorola handset.
2. Motorola is betting big on Android and is about to release their first handset on t-Mobile - the Cliq. The interesting thing about Motorola's product, is that they are investing their R&D dollars
(which they can do since they don't have any licensing fees with Android) in extending Android with some interesting ideas, like motoBlur, which looks like a simple and intuitive way for a user to interact with the key social networks.
3. Another US Tier1 carrier - Sprint - is about to release an Android based device. Sprint will be releasing an HTC Hero (see http://community.sprint.com/baw/community/sprintblogs/buzz-by-sprint/ann...) - similar/same as the myTouch from t-Mobile and a Samsung device (see http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12261_7-10369842-10356022.html)
4. t-Mobile is marketing pretty heavily the myTouch. Lots of TV ads, website placements should make the myTouch more popular than the G1 (the G1 despite it's flaws - bulkiness and battery life - did pretty
well in selling about 1M handsets since its introduction).
5. All these things are timed very well with the holiday buying season, making Android devices a very good alternative to a more limited feature phone purchase or an iPhone.
While Android hasn't exactly taken off yet, we're seeing good signs that it is getting ready for a much broader user base - probably approaching 10 million sometime next year.