Google Throws Smartphone Hat Into Ring

Google dove headfirst into the world of wireless phones today, premiering a long-awaited Internet software rival for Apple and Microsoft—and revealing that the so-called Android would be free and open source. In announcing a broad alliance of mobile phone operators and chip makers, the young company showed the inroads it’s already made in the industry, the Times reports. Google’s profits will come from targeted advertising.

There is no GPhone forthcoming, however: Instead of making unique hardware, a spokesman said, Google will provide open-source licensing, “enabling 1,000 people to build a GPhone.” Android will not be available until the second half of 2008. The company said its strategy will lower the bar for developers to enter the smartphone slipstream, spurring innovation. (More Google stories.)