Can Android compete with iPhone and BlackBerry?

Android Smartphone

Android, the mobile alliance between Google and Verizon, is hoping to become a formidable force in the smartphone industry, as the internet and telecommunication giants look to topple the dominant iPhone and BlackBerry.

For a long time in the industry, Apple and BlackBerry looked destined to be the only players capable of competing in the ever-growing US smartphone market. But, this week, Verizon Wireless and Google said they will collaborate on mobile devices, services, and software for the Android mobile operating system that's being developed by a Google-led consortium. The collaboration gives Android its largest ever wireless industry benefactor, and will help to accelerate the development of Android-based devices.

In a further development that will help to boost Android's chances of mounting a serious challenge in the market, this month will see Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone and the largest US wireless service provider, unveil at least three Android-based phones from such makers as Motorola, Samsung, and HTC.

It is hoped the backing Android will receive from Verizon, which have 87.7 million users, will encourage other handset makers to build for Android too. Also, device manufacturers may unveil 30 Android-based devices by year end, according to Stifel Nicolaus analyst George Askew. Last summer, Google's top Android manager, Andy Rubin, said he expected up to 20 devices to debut in 2009, reports Business Week.

Very soon, iPhones and BlackBerrys could be forced behind Android in the market, if Verizon decides to promote the handsets aggressively. However, Android market, which sells games and productivity apps for various smartphones, falls well behind Apple App Store in terms of how many apps it offers - one of the most important selling points of any smartphone. Android only offer 10,000 apps, compared to Apple's 85,000.

But the now Google-Verizon-backed Android will undoubtedly try and rectify this problem in order to increase their chances of dominating the market. "Within 12 to 18 months, we'll see a lot more interesting applications coming out of the developer community," says Scott Ellison, a vice-president at consultant IDC.

If that does happen, all it would then take is for Android phones to slightly improve its features before it becomes a genuine alternative to the iPhone and BlackBerry. The partnership between Google and Verizon also means that the telco-giant will no longer feel the need to make the changes necessary to become a partner to Apple in selling the iPhone. "They are showing Apple: 'If we don't get the iPhone, we have all this other stuff; we are not desperate,'" says Tero Kuittinen, senior analyst at institutional equity trading and research firm MKM Partners, told Business Week.

So, things are looking promising for Android in the smartphone market - as long as they make up ground quick enough to offset the developments Apple and BlackBerry make in the mean time.

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