Android holds some good news for Apple

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 13 November 2007 01:06

Your IT - Mobility

Some of the commentary about the Open Handset Alliance's Android mobile phone platform has aligned it as a competitor for Apple's iPhone. Clearly, there will be some market rivalry, but in one important area there is a degree of 'coopertition'.

Among the details emerging from Google is the news that Android will incorporate a browser based on the WebKit engine - as is the Safari browser built into the iPhone and the iPod touch.

Depending on how good a job the Open Handset Alliance partners do with the hardware design and the user interface, Android phones may well attract some buyers that might otherwise have chosen an iPhone.

However, if the platform is successful it will substantially increase the number of mobile devices running a WebKit-based browser, increasing the likelihood that designers and developers will ensure their sites render properly and function correctly on such devices.