Well, the pool of top possibilities in order of size include:

1. AT&T
2. Verizon Wireless
3. Sprint Nextel
4. T-Mobile
5. Alltel
6. U.S. Cellular
7. The list goes on….

You can be pretty sure that Google will want to launch the first Android Phone on one of the top dogs. To come out of the gate on a puny network would be an incredibly weak introduction to Android, repelling possible converts at the start of what Google hopes will become a dynasty.

Let’s face it: AT&T and Verizon Wireless are far from excited about the prospects of Android. They’re two industry giants who have protected corporate profits by limiting customer access. Since maximizing shareholder value is the top priority, you can’t blame them.

But now here comes Google, a younger and neighboring industry giant attempting to tread on their territory, promising a paradigm shift in the market they helped create. It’s simply not logical for them to jump on the Android boat without taking a wait-and-see approach. Instead, they’ll be sitting safely on land watching the whole thing play out, hoping for a dramatic crash and burn finale that returns their lives to status quo. Then they’ll jump on the LiMo bandwagon and rake in the profit themselves.

Suffice to say it won’t play out like that… but they can hope, can’t they? When the opposite happens, they’ll quickly release an Android phone before the surge of customers hit their exit doors for Android. And the well documented squabbles between Google and Verizon Wireless, which most recently prompted Verizon to snub Google and join LiMo, pretty much solidifies Verizon’s resistance to Android.

So now you’ve got Sprint and T-Mobile, two carriers with a lot to gain and a whole lot of market share to capture. Having the competitive edge of an Android phone could put them in prime position to gain ground on the big two. Not to mention, they are the only two U.S. wireless carriers in the Open Handset Alliance.

While T-Mobile has openly promised an Android Phone and 3G network speeds by the end of the year, it’s looking more and more like Sprint will be the first carrier with an Android Phone. Why? Because Google has a vested interest in the success of Sprint.

Sprint Nextel is a struggling giant that has recently been clawing for it’s life. There were rumors that they were going to be sold to T-Mobile. Then talk about spinning off the ball-and-chain that is Nextel. Instead, relief came in a Joint Venture with Clearwire for Sprint’s up-and-coming XOHM network… their branded project for 4G speeds.

Among investors in Clearwire?

• Comcast
• Intel
• Time Warner Cable
• and GOOGLE

It might just be a Joint Venture, but Google has no other allegiance or ties to another carrier. While Google is notorious for NOT playing favorites, if they had to choose ONE carrier, Sprint seems like the obvious choice. BEYOND their financial stake in the Clearwire Joint Venture, having a healthy sprint is simply good for the mobile industry.

Think about it… the reason that AT&T and Verizon are “holding out” of the Open Handset Alliance is because they are the 2 largest companies of an oligopoly. Further consolidating the industry, should an existing carrier swallow Sprint, would only push the current mobile conditions further towards a monopoly. This means less options. Android itself is built on the idea of consumers having “options”.

So… if Android is to initially debut on ONE carrier, Sprint seems like the obvious choice. But does Google have different plans?

Obviously, Google would like to launch Android with as much fanfare as possible. An incredibly amount of their ADC Round 1 winners were in the “Social Networking” space. How cool will Social Networking be if you can only communicate with other Sprint Customers who have the exact same phone as you?

Google should be, and probably is, thinking bigger. LiMo, the Open Handset Alliance’s main competitor, announced 18 handsets from 7 different carriers to kick of their LiMo-fest. They’ll likely be released in early 2009. It would likely that Google attempts a similar stunt, launching a wide array of handsets from a number of different manufacturers. And hopefully, all on the same day.

But that brings us back to the same question. Lots of different handsets from many manufacturers but on what carrier? Hopefully, Google is trying to smooth things over with Verizon and AT&T, and if they’re initially flexible with the companies for the pure purpose of getting Android handsets on their network, they’d be doing themselves a huge favor.

But, if Android handsets were going to appear (on the big carriers) sequentially and not all at one time, here is our prediction:

• Sprint
• T-Mobile
• AT&T
• Verizon Wireless

Google will have to be fair and even in their carrier distribution because afterall, they want to frame the Android initiative as not just coming from Google, but the Open Handset Alliance as a whole. Please, please Verizon and AT&T… swallow your pride and get on board… we REALLY don’t want to have to jump ship.

This evening Google released a list of the judges (featured below) and a 46-page document ( one page for each application) overviewing the winning applications (see it here). Kind of interesting that Google employees represented 20% of the judges… weren’t sure if they’d have a very active roll in judging or play more of the “hands off” game.

We’d say 20% is pretty active… here is the full list…

Core companies that support Android’s cause are members of the Open Handset Alliance, defined as, “a group of mobile and technology leaders who share this vision for changing the mobile experience for consumers.” They claim that their, “first joint project as a new Alliance is Android.”

So although Android is technically owned by Google, the OHA website makes it clear that Android is a product of this “group effort”. Furthermore, the OHA site identifies that the goal of Android is: “to be the first open, complete, and free platform created specifically for mobile devices.”

Hmmmm… so what is the goal of LiMo? Directly from their website:

“LiMo Foundation is an industry consortium dedicated to creating the first truly open, hardware-independent, Linux-based operating system for mobile devices.”

So it would appear they have the same goal. Since that goal includes the word “first” only one of them can accomplish that goal. It appears that Android will be first to market with an enabled handset, but we can’t help but note that word “truly” stuck between “first” and “open” in LiMo’s mission statement.

Are they taking a carefully calculated swipe at Android and the OHA because it’s not truly open? Maybe, but LiMo was formed at the beginning of 2007, before Android was announced.

Does that word “truly” have significant value in the battle between Android and LiMo? You can bet your boxers on it. (Female readers can bet their panties or underwear or whatever else, “boxers” just sounded much more cool.)

The fact that Android isn’t completely open really isn’t news to anyone. The fact remains: the practice of mobile carriers to strictly limit (and inhibit) the software capabilities on otherwise perfectly capable handsets presented an opportunity for Google to wedge themselves between Manufacturers and Carriers, supplying invaluable potential to consumers. Nobody is naive enough to believe they’re doing it simply for the “the love of the game” so to speak… they’re doing it for profit.

This could be considered an irritation to mobile carriers who purposefully restrict consumer’s abilities, force them to use their own proprietary software and then charge them an arm and a leg for additional features.

While LiMo may seem to be taking the high road by providing the first Linux OS that is “truly” open… we ask them the question… Open for who?

On page 3 of the Limo Foundation Overview (PDF), they claim to be “Middleware OS Only - avoiding conflict with operators, handset vendors and content providers.”

And thus is the reason that the two biggest carriers in the United States, AT&T and Verizon, haven’t joined the Open Handset Alliance. As Ralph De La Vega, CEO of AT&T Mobility, explained the hesitance of offering an Android handset, “One of the things we were looking for was that it was truly open and that you could put other features and applications on it.”

You mean like AT&T revenue generating features instead of Google revenue generating features?

Interesting to point out that Ralph uses that golden word “truly open”… including the word “truly”. AT&T isn’t a member of LiMo or anything, but the bottom line is that these companies want a “truly open” platform so they can close it right back up to their liking. The LiMo Overview outlines that Applications and Content is “as decided by user,” but how much flexibility will they have in the decision making process?

Had the stakeholders in the Mobile Industry done more to benefit the customer instead of worrying exclusively about their pockets, a “LiMo” type organization would have been formed much earlier and they never would have left the door open for Google. Instead, they’re stuck in a precarious situation wondering how they can open their phones to provide consumers more without giving Google the keys to the mobile content house.

For some of these companies it looks like LiMo will be the answer. Unfortunately for LiMo it’s simply too late. If LiMo was so promising, why would 3 out of their 8 founding members join the Open Handset Alliance (Motorola, NTT Docomo, Samsung)? Why would half of their self proclaimed “Core Members” join the OHA (Aplix, LG, Texas Instruments, Wind River)? Especially considering they share the same exact mission… only Google’s end result will be a better, more polished and capable product.

The fact is that LiMo is doomed to either fail completely or be rendered inconsequential. Nonetheless, LiMo today announced the addition of 7 gullable companies and 1 spiteful Verizon. Did anyone know that LiMo has already announced 18 handsets from 7 companies that will utilize the platform?

Take the small number of people who knew and multiply by the percentage of people that cared and you have, coincidentally, the exact same number of combined employees working for LiMo member companies.

Perhaps we’re being a little harsh on LiMo. Afterall, in the incredibly unlikely scenario that Android doesn’t shine, somehow fizzles and ultimately goes under, the mobile industry will have a Plan B. Not to mention, for cheaper devices that aren’t expected to do as much extra-curricular stuff anyways, LiMo could be a quick, easy alternative.

But please… lets stop fooling ourselves. Take a look at some research we found on OSTATIC regarding the predicted sales of Linux based phones:

ABI Research recently predicted that Linux phones will hold a whopping 20 percent of the mobile phone market by 2010. To put that in perspective, that’s almost the market share that Apple’s red hot iPhone has, according to data from NPD Research.

First of all, since Android will almost certainly outsell the iPhone, we predict those whopping numbers will be a lot more whopping than 20 percent. In addition, what percent OF that 20% are expected to be LiMo phones and what percent Android?

We don’t mean to be haters, but be honest, doesn’t it seem like the best phones will be running Android while the pared down, cheap, budget phones will get LiMo? I guess it’s always good to prepare for the worst case scenario… at least they have a backup plan.

Two of the tech industries biggest buzzwords are currently “mobile” and “social networking”. We already know how Google is altering the gravitational pull of the mobile industry, putting themselves in the center of that universe, but what about Social Networking?

Introducing FriendConnect:

Google promises FriendConnect will allow website owners to “make any site social” by providing easily embeddable code that will allow you a multitude of social networking features without ever having to leave a website.

With FriendConnect, websites that want to create a community element, as most sites now do, needn’t put time, effort and money into developing a community portal. Instead, a customizable widget of sorts will allow website owners to allow functionality including, “user registration, invitations, members gallery, message posting, and reviews, as well as third-party applications built by the OpenSocial developer community.”

We hate to break it to you… but the idea is NOT unique. In fact, current website owners may be familiar with a popular widget called MyBlogLog which offers similar features with equally easy to implement code. A show of hands - how many people knew that Yahoo bought MyBlogLog in January of 2008?

So what will make FriendConnect better than MyBlogLog? We’ll get to that. But first, lets learn a little more about what FriendConnect will do.

In their press release, Google explains that people want to communicate with their friends but, “are tiring of needing to create new logins and profiles and recreate their friends lists wherever they go on the web.” We concur. Every time a new website and service is labeled the “next big thing” you can sense a collective sigh… “ugh, another login, password”. Not only that, but connecting with your friends on various sites becomes a laundry list of chores instead of a pleasure.

“Visitors to any site using Google Friend Connect will be able to see, invite, and interact with new friends, or, using secure authorization APIs, with existing friends from social sites on the web, including Facebook, Google Talk, hi5, orkut, Plaxo, and more.”

We like where this is going.

Google’s recent business seems to be based on one key word: Consolidation. This isn’t anything new and the announcement of FriendConnect is far from a surprise. Perhaps you’ll recall a little something anounced by Google on November, 1st 2007 (before Android) called OpenSocial.

Google defines OpenSocial as ” a common API for social applications across multiple websites. With standard JavaScript and HTML, developers can create apps that access a social network’s friends and update feeds.”

So then doesn’t it seem peculiar that on March 25, 2008, Yahoo announced their participation in the OpenSocial initiative? Yeah… a little bit. But with MySpace being dethroned by Facebook, and high-up execs flocking to the emerging social giant, anything other than Facebook will need as much ammo as possible to bring down the castle.

OpenSocial and FriendConnect are two very different things, so lets distinguish between them. FriendConnect and MyBlogLog are on the same wavelenth - embeddable implementations of mashed up social networks offering on-site functionality. OpenSocial is the movement towards only needing one login name for everything you have… consolidating your online presence by assuming your OpenSocial ID will gain you access to a growing number of services. Your OpenSocial ID, for example, would gain you access TO FriendConnect and/or MyBlogLog.

Unfortunately for Yahoo, Google is simply going to implement the concept better. Sure, Yahoo! has first mover advantage but Yahoo’s shortcomings are well documented and the scope and abilities of MyBlogLog are limited. Google promises to do much, much more.

This whole web of social networking gets really confusing considering OpenSocial and Facebook are considered rivals yet FriendConnect will allow for Facebooking features. It all goes back to the concept of Google trying to put themselves at the center of whatever universe they want to dominate. In the perfect world, you would never need to visit Facebook.com again because every single website would have FriendConnect embedded, allowing you to seamlessly connect to Facebook without leaving the site you’re on.

So… instead of seeing the ads on Facebook.com you’ll be seeing the ads in the FriendConnect widget. I can hear you thinking, “So there will be ads in the FriendConnect widget?” Maybe not initially… after Google has enough leverage, feeding ads would be the logical next step.

We are on an Android related site, so there MUST be some connection to the mobile industry, right? Of course. The timing of Google’s planned consolidation of Mobile OS and Social Networking comes at the time of media convergence. No one device does one thing. In fact, every device does nearly everything.

It’s no coincidence that Google and Verizon are currently talking about “Any app, Any device,” for the 700 MHz spectrum while Google’s FriendConnect is promising, “Any App, Any Site, Any Friends.”

The technology to do some pretty amazing things already exists… it has for awhile. Unfortunately, the inter-corporate barriers that have been built have made successfully implementing these technologies difficult for companies, service providers, and consumers. So here is Google… doing what made it successful in the first place… tearing down the barriers and complications to provide consumers with a one stop shop for their needs.

Afterall, they know that putting the needs/desires of consumers before profit will put them at the center of an industry’s universe, ultimately generating more revenue than anyone thought they could.

Welcome to FriendConnect.

Related Links:

• FriendConnect Introduction
• FriendConnect Detailed Description/Summary

Example Sites Using FriendConnect:

• http://www.mylatestpiece.com/
• http://www.ossamples.com/recipes/
• http://www.ingridmichaelson.com/ilike
• http://www.bibleapps.com/

1. AndroidScan - Use your phone to scan a barcode, get pricing information from dozens of stores, product reviews and more. Never make a bad purchase again! (by Jeffrey Sharkey)
2. Beetaun - Social network around geographical content created by people and for people (from your neighborhood, from your city, from your country, from all over the world). By Sergey Gritsyuk and Dmitri Shipilov
3. BioWallet - A biometric authentication system for Android. This application features iris recognition and can act as a password safe and provide single sign-on for other Android apps. Jose Luis Huertas Fernandez
4. BreadCrumbz -Navigate your route using pictures instead of a map (there’s also a map, if you like). Easily record routes using your smartphone. Share them with your friends, share them with the world. By Amos Yoffe
5. CallACab - Konrad Huebner and Henning Boeger
6. City Slikkers - a Pervasive Game (alternatively Location Based Game) which takes place in the real-existing city. It is designed to connect a large number of players through-out the world and change the way the surroundings are seen. The central idea behind the concept is to give people the opportunity to symbolically interfere with the everyday urban environment and come into contact with previously unknown people. By PoroCity Media and Virtual Logic Systems.
7. Commandro - Commandro shows where are your friends REALLY are and what they’re doing at the moment. Using GPS location information, it will display 100% true real-life event and location information with regards to you and your friends. By Alex Pisarev, Andrey Tapekha.
8. Cooking Capsules -Simply “watch” a very short cooking show, “shop” with the grocery list, and “make” using the handy step-by-step recipe directions. If you are out of your usual neighborhood you can use the ‘find nearest market’ gps feature. If your friend is stopping at the market, simply hit the ’send to friend’ button to text your list to them. By Mary Ann Cotter and Muthuselvam Ramadoss
9. Diggin - Daniel Johansson, Aramis Waernbaum, Andreas Hedin
10. Dyno - Virachat Boondharigaputra
11. e-ventr - The domain is password protected, but a Whois Lookup shows it is owned by the developer named by Google. By Michael Zitzelsberger.
12. Eco2go - Reduce your carbon footprint. Eco2go finds and suggests public transit alternatives for your trips - right on your phone. By Taneem Talukdar, Gary Pong, Jeff Kao and Robert Lam
13. Em-Radar - Em-Radar is a revolutionary mobile product that alerts you about emergencies and severe weather anywhere, any time. By Jack Kwok.
14. fingerprint - Robert Mickle
15. FreeFamilyWatch - Navee Technologies LLC
16. goCart - Rylan Barnes
17. GolfPlay - give support to all the real time necessities of a golf player during a game, using GPS location and an online querying site where it is possible to access to their game statistics, tournament creation and a social network to exchange impressions with other users about the sport that links them: golf. By Inizziativa Networks
18. gWalk - Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klaus ten Hagen, Christian Klinger, Marko Modsching, Rene Scholze
19. HandWx - Delivers 7-Day weather forecasts to your phone. By Weathertop Consulting LLC.
20. IMEasy - Yan Shi
21. Jigsaw - Mikhail Ksenzov
22. JOYity - Coming soon. By Zelfi AG.
23. LifeAware - Mobile Tracking Service formed to help people be aware of where their friends and family are. A quick search on the Internet shows that approximately 700,000 children are classified as missing annually. The intent of Life Aware is to help you be aware of where you family and friends are. Gregory Moore, Aaron L. Obrien, Jawad Akhtar
24. Locale - Locale is one of 7 Android applications submitted by MIT students. It enables you to set up location- and time-based profiles for your phone, so you can make it shut up when you’re at work, forward calls to your landline when you’re at home. Clare Bayley, Christina Wright, Jasper Lin, Carter Jernigan.
25. LReady Emergency Manager - A quick Whois Lookup shows the domain is owned by Chris Hulls, named by Google as a developer of LReady. By Chris Hulls, Dilpreet Singh, Luis Carvalho, Phuong Nguyen.
26. Marvin - Marvin allows you to publish and browse geo-localized objects around you. Objects can be static or move by themselves and follow you. You publish and browse where you are, based on your current location or where you virtually are on the map. By Pontier Laurent.
27. Mobeedo - Mobile Search. By Sengaro GmbH.
28. Multiple Facets Instant Messenger - A Whois Lookup shows the website is owned by Virgil Dobjanschi who is named by Google as the creator of this application. By Virgil Dobjanschi.
29. MyCloset - Mamoru Tokashiki
30. PedNav - an application that helps you plan your activities efficiently when moving around and interacting with an urban environment. Like a good personal assistant, PedNav first inquires about your general plans for the day. By RouteMe2 Technologies Inc.
31. Phonebook 2.0 - Coming soon. By Voxmobili.
32. PicSay - Eric Wijngaard
33. PiggyBack - Christophe Petit and Sebastien Petit
34. Pocket Journey - connects your location to the voices of a global community of artists, historians, architects, musician, comedians, and others so you can quickly know everything about anywhere. By Anthony Stevens and Rosie Pongracz.
35. Rayfarla - Rayfarla turns your phone into a musical instrument as well as providing a variety of mini games that are music related. I’m not saying too much about Rayfarla at the moment as I’m now in competition with 49 other semifinalists but suffice to say there will be some interesting twists when it is finally released on hardware. By Stephen Oldmeadow.
36. Safety Net - Michael DeJadon
37. SocialMonster - Ben Siu-Lung Hui and Tommy Ng
38. SplashPlay - SplashPlay offers the next generation in musical tuition and learning to play the guitar just got a whole lot easier. Simply attach the pod and light panel to your guitar and start strumming to your favourite songs in minutes. Songs are sent to the pod from a mobile phone or computer using a USB or Bluetooth connection, giving total portability. Other features include a guitar tuner, guitar metronome and a hands free, Bluetooth foot pedal. The product will provide an easy, portable and fun method of learning music.
39. Sustain- Keeping Your Social Network Alive - Niraj Swami
40. SynchroSpot - Shaun Terry
41. Talkplay - Sung Suh Park
42. Teradesk - José Augusto Athayde Ferrarini
43. The Weather Channel for Android - The Weather Channel Interactive Inc.
44. TuneWiki - Our goal is to have the lyrics always on, always available, always synchronized to music - on any device that can play music back and connect to the internet. By TuneWiki Inc.
45. Wikitude-the Mobile Travel Guide - Find points of interest based on your current location. By Philipp Breuss.
46. Writing Pad - ShapeWriter is an innovative, original, fun, and highly efficient method of entering text into touch screen mobile phones. ShapeWriter lets the user to simply draw a continuous stroke from letter to letter on a soft keyboard and lift to complete the word. The resulting trace is recognized as the intended word. For example: to write the word “fun”, land the pen (or mouse cursor) on the F key, drag to the U key, continue to the N key and lift up the pen. ShapeWriter recognizes the curso trace F-U-N as the word “fun”.By ShapeWriter Inc.

[List via Google's ADC Blog]

Winners: Congratulations! Others: Keep working hard… don’t give up!

Here is the e-mail that winners received:

During the past few weeks, 100+ judges around the world reviewed over
1,700 applications. They were extremely impressed with the diversity
and the large number of high quality entries submitted. We’re pleased
to inform you that your entry is among the top 50 submissions and that
you will be awarded $25,000 USD. Your application has demonstrated
originality, indispensability, intuitiveness, and good use of the
Android platform - which are all attributes that our judges looked for
while evaluating submissions to the challenge.

We’d like to bring a few items to your attention:
1. Due to the high quality of the submissions, many of the judges who
are also members of the Open Handset Alliance have shown interest in
contacting some of the participants regarding their applications to
explore further opportunities.

2. We would also like to publish a list of the Semifinalists and their
entries this coming Monday, 5/12. In particular, this would include
your name, a screenshot, and a short description about your
application. The description we’ll be including regarding your
application is attached to this email.

To protect your privacy, we will not publish or share your information
without your prior consent. If you are interested in having your
information published and/or being contacted by a judge for potential
further opportunities, please use the following form to give us your
consent:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=XXX

You may also submit changes to the description of your entry at the
above location. The requirements for the description are: Description
(20 words max); Bullets (3 bullets, 46 words max); Tag line (10 words
max). You may change the screenshots later.

We need all responses to the above form submitted no later than 9a PDT
Monday, May 12.

3. If you happen to be in San Francisco, CA on May 28-29, we hope that
you’ll join us at Google I/O, Google’s largest developer event, where
we will be holding many technical sessions on Android and other
relevant technologies. We’re providing you with a complimentary pass
hoping that you’ll attend as our guest. Many Android team members will
be present and are looking forward to meeting you.
If you’re interested in attending Google I/O please fill in the
appropriate information in the above form and we’ll get you your
complimentary event pass.
We will be contacting you next week regarding the payment process and
next steps involving the final round of the challenge.

Congratulations and thank you again for participating in the
challenge!

Android Developer Challenge Team

And here is the e-mail losers received:

Dear participant,

During the past few weeks, 100+ judges around the world reviewed over 1,700 applications. They were extremely impressed with the diversity and the large number of high quality entries submitted. It is clear that the number of great applications far exceeds the 50 top scoring applications that will move on to the final round of the Android Developer Challenge.

We regret to inform you that your entry was not among the top 50 submissions. However, we’d like to bring a couple of interesting opportunities to your attention:

1. Due to the high quality of the submissions many of the judges who are also members of the Open Handset Alliance have showed interest in contacting some of the participants regarding their applications to explore further opportunities.

2. In the near future, we’ll be creating an Android Developer Challenge Gallery where you can showcase your application. We’ll be providing more details shortly on how you can participate in this gallery.

If you’re interested in either one of these opportunities, please fill out the following form:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/google.com/viewform?key=XXXX

As we’ve announced earlier, we’ll be running a second Android Developer Challenge later this year. This will give you another opportunity to showcase your application and compete for top prizes. We’ll be announcing the details of the second Android Developer Challenge in the near future.

If you happen to be in San Francisco, CA on May 28-29, we hope that you’ll join us at Google I/O, Google’s largest developer event, where we will be holding many technical sessions on Android and other relevant technologies. The team will be present there and is looking forward to meeting you.

Thank you again for participating in the challenge.

Android Developer Challenge Team

[EMail summaries via AndDev]

When Google pushed the bidding above the reserve, never planning to purchase, it forced the Winner of the Block C auction to provide an “Open” spectrum that could not legally, “deny, limit or restrict the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice.”

Verizon knew the winner had to play by these rules. The same rules for which Verizon sued the FCC hoping to change beforehand. They didn’t win that fight and they still purchased Block C for billions of dollars… knowing the rules. But did they have a trick up their sleeve?

They seemingly “saw the light” and completely reversed their opinion, releasing a press release in late November of 2007 outlining their “Any Apps, Any Device” program that would begin in 2008. Under the program, customers could bring any handset passing Verizon’s admittedly easy standards for use on the Verizon network and use any application on it as well.

Really? Was it that easy to make nice with the Big Red? Not at all… they then seemingly plotted to do the teenage equivalent of sneaking out after midnight and saying they didn’t know they had a curfew.

One can interpret rules and laws in different ways and thus is half the reason the Judicial branch exists in America. Google had an irking suspicion that Verizon was going to allow any application on any device as demanded by the FCC guidelines. But what if “any device” didn’t include Verizon devices? What if Verizon claimed that because the FCC was obviously discussing devices external to the Verizon network that “any device” meant “any non-Verizon device”?

Then Google told Mom on Verizon.

“Moooooooooooooooooooom,” Google screamed, “I heard Verizon talking to his friends and he is going to sneak out after midnight!”

Mom is of course the FCC and the Google scream came by way of a Formal Petition to the FCC. In the petition, Google suggests the FCC would be made to look like fools if they somehow let Verizon get away with the above possibility. It would be counter productive to the entire concept of the Open Spectrum, Google claims, and they suggest the FCC demand Verizon formerly clarify, in writing, their explicit intent to abide by the rules.

Verizon then simultaneously acknowledged the authority of “Mom” while dropping a Put-You-In-Your-Place Bitch Slap to Google for tattle-taling:

Jim Gerace’s post on the Verizon Policy Blog appeases the FCC by saying, “Of course we’ll abide by those rules,” while openly shunning the Big G, “If Google or anybody else has evidence we aren’t playing by the rules, there are legitimate and expedited ways to address that.”

Expedite. Interesting word there Mr. Gerace. You’ll notice that win Verizon initially sued the FCC I didn’t say they “lost” the case… they simply didn’t win. Their case was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit asking them to “hold unlawful” the open platform conditions.

Verizon didn’t lose because they withdrew their petition for expedited review. That simply means the courts didn’t think the evidence suitable enough to make a rushed decision and the matter would have to go to court. That is when, of course, Verizon unveiled their “Any Apps, Any Device” plan.

But now the tables have seemingly turned and Verizon is showing Google the Mobile Finger. Google desperately needs the Block C Spectrum to be completely open to allow for the unhindered success of their Open Mobile OS - Android. And that is no secret.

In their FCC petition, Google stated, “Action now is especially necessary given the long lead time typically required for software applications developers and device manufacturers to design, develop and deploy their products to the public.”

They might as well have just said, “Hurry the hell up… Android is on the way.”

Now, being the winner and the actual terms of “Open” and “Any” not being clarified, it seems the burden of proof has fallen on Google’s shoulders by way of the FCC. Given how irate Verizon Wireless seems, they’ve probably got some intention to at least make Google’s life difficult.

Google and Verizon are both feeling the heat… you could even say they have the “Heebie GeeVees”

We won’t have to wait long to see how the next Chapter unfolds… the article on Verizon’s Policy Blog also states, We expect to file at the Federal Communications Commission within the next several days on this matter.”

Even if they 100% agree to follow the FCC’s terms you can be SURE that this battle, which has escalated beyond a sibling rivalry, will continue. Afterall, Verizon still holds the keys to the Spectrum and can build regulations and terms for passing their “Open Standards” that pigeon hole Android devices and apps into going through more rigorous testing by creatively addressing their “standards” to do so.

This is just getting good… off come the gloves and for us… out comes the popcorn.

It appears the appearance is now impossible… and so the Dream will remain a mobile fantasy and a figment of your imagination.

Thanks to our boy - The Boy Genius - we were able to follow along live via his quick textual updates and on/off choppy video from qik. He appears to be the only major tech blog that provided live coverage so big props to him for coming through in the clutch!

The HTC Touch Diamond DOES look pretty cool and it sounds like it has some innovative inclusions but… it just left us wondering if it was worth they hype? We just recently jumped over the CTIA hurdle… why not make this announcement there? We’re sure it was some cigar filled room strategery but to build up the announcement of a phone to such grand heights when it seems like week after week a new “The Next Big Thing” is released only serves to undercut their product.

The fact is, they said it would be revolutionary. The fact is, people equated revolutionary with Android. And, the fact is, they under delivered in that regard. But… could the handset live up to expectations once we get it in our hands?

It is a possibility. But it also is running Windows Mobile and, being an Android News Source, we just can’t bring ourselves to speculate further. We’ll let the big boys like BGR do the speculating why we rid ourself of our Un-Dreamified frustrations.

We still love you HTC… just GIVE US OUR DREAM!

The reasons Mobile Coupons haven’t taken off are fairly basic:

1. The number of mobile phone users who access “extra curricular” features are not only limited, but spread across handset manufacturers, mobile carriers, handset OS platforms and geographic boundaries making logical, helpful mass distribution a conundrum.
2. The cost of reaching targeted consumers relative to the potential revenue generated simply doesn’t make it worthwhile for advertisers at the moment.
3. The process for consumers to retrieve mobile coupons is currently as far from “habit forming” as possible. It’s an inconvenience and for this reason they don’t even try.
4. If DO go through the inconvenience, they are likely to be left unrewarded as the vast majority of retailers and service providers don’t offer mobile coupons.

You see it is a bit of a Catch 22. The consumers don’t bother with mobile coupons because they are irrelevant in terms of offerings. Advertisers don’t plop down the money because consumers view them as irrelevant and they aren’t likely to earn a return on their investment. But all that is about to change… courtesy of Android.

Android will fulfill the consumer and advertiser end of the bargain in the following ways:

• Easy for consumers to just download one app.
• Easy to use after download (ex: view coupons for “select category” nearby)
• Puts this same application into the hands of a mass population who are spread across handsets, carriers and location but use the software the same.

The question is, who will step up to the plate and make the best Android App involving coupons? The first round of the Android Developer Challenge has passed and we’re wondering how many entries were coupon based. Anybody?

Google themselves is surely trying to capitalize on the value of their own platform. Don’t believe us? They’ve kind of said so themselves. It won’t be hard to tweak a few things and make this applicable to Android.

By the way, something we’re really, really curious about: is Google currently developing a suite of their own Google Android Applications that will compete directly with the 3rd party developers submitting their work to the ADC? Because if so… that could get sticky. But at the same time… we can’t imagine they wouldn’t?

In any case, QuickOffice makes viewing Microsoft Office Documents on your mobile device a breeze. That includes .docx, .xlsx and .ppt files. That’s great news for Android as it promises to lure in all those users currently involved in WinMo Mania. Furthermore, according to EngadgetMobile, it will be equipped with technology that will allow you to access documents remotely. And since it’s called a “mobile” phone… yeah… good idea.

So this is great news for Andoid and future Android users but what about Google? Google has been actively promoting their own software package as a Microsoft Office competitor with very limited success. People simply prefer Word, PowerPoint and Excel or haven’t mustered up the courage to dive in and make the switch. Will Android perpetuate the existing preferences or will Google step in and preload Google Doc software on Android devices?

Google obviously wants SOMETHING out of this crazy little thing called Android and it wouldn’t be out of the realm of logic that they force handsets to be preinstalled with Google Documents version of “Documents, Spreadsheets and Presentations”.

So it looks like the first battle between fully Open Source and platform owned initiatives has begun. How will it unfold? Only time will tell… but to tell you the truth, we don’t really care what comes “preloaded”. The promise of Android is that you can easily plug it in, download and use whatever the heck you want.

As long as that process is made easy… this is a win/win/win for all parties involved.

[Original story via EngadgetMobile, Talk Android]

In a CNN Money article, VP of T-Mobile’s Broadband and New Business Unit commented on Android: “I’m impressed,” he said. “We will have more than one product…(The move to an open platform) will be innovation across the board, not just one device.”

Clearly… Android is going to become an overnight sensation. Because if T-Mobile unleashes an avalanche of Android devices than the other OHA competitors will respond… if they haven’t already unleashed their own. There WILL be amazing Android Apps out their thanks to the growing legion of Android developers and Verizon and AT&T will swiftly release Android Apps of their own to prevent the floodgates from opening.

Regardless… it looks like it will be an Android Christmas for many, many folks… but definitely T-Mobile customers.

Meanwhile, the folks behind WinMo and Blackberry could be seen shuddering in fear. Even Nedim Fresko, director of strategic platform initiatives at Blackberry maker Research in Motion, predicted T- Mobile’s release would be a “wake-up call for innovation.” In other words… he read the news and threw up in his own mouth a little bit. 

Android will be the real deal, the big time, the song and dance. They’ve talked the talk and are starting to walk the walk and slowly but surely more people are joining in. And not joining as in signing a piece of paper that says you’re in the OHA… but as in when Forrest Gump starts running by himself and he is just a weirdo running but then a few others join and pretty soon there are like a billion people running with him and he’s a running icon…

Okay… Okay… maybe we took a bit too far. But you get the point.