Disqus
The hype and hoopla surrounding Google’s entry into the mobile space has fizzled out somewhat. Google’s Open Handset Alliance (OHA) announcement was huge, there’s no doubt about that – but as far as staying power, that announcement has already hit the back-burner.
AT&T is looking to fire up the hype-machine again with AT&T wireless chief Ralph de la Vega’s announcement that Big Blue is considering joining the Android-supporting OHA. AT&T’s entry into the OHA would mark the carrier’s intention to sell handsets with the Linux-based Android mobile OS.
If AT&T were to join the OHA, smaller carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile USA could get shafted out of their open-handset advantage. Larger carriers like Verizon and AT&T are notorious for locking down their handsets to only run code sanctioned by the carrier – Sprint and T-Mobile’s participation in the OHA would have given them an edge against the larger incumbents by offering innovative handsets to their subscriber-base. But, if AT&T ships Android-based handsets, we could see an even larger gap between the top US carriers and smaller (relatively) outfits like Sprint, and T-Mobile.
[Via: Electronista]
About The Author
Will Park
Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...
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Varun
