18 August 2005 | Author: Andrew Girdwood Head of Strategy

Google buys the secretive Android

Google has bought the secretive Android. Android does not make androids - probably not, anyway. The startup company is famous for being extremely tight lipped about what it does. Android produces software for mobile phones.

Google has said that they acquired the company because of their talented engineers and their great technology. This may well be true. It also seems likely that Google are up to something telephony. There have been Google adverts for engineers with dark fibre experience (optical fibre). Google launched SMS search last year in the States and this year for the United Kingdom.

The search engine also owns Dodgeball. Dodgeball blends mobile phones with social networking.

Google is yet to move into pay-per-call. Its pure speculation, but they might, also speculative (but persistently so) is Google's interest in wireless networks. Google have been buying backbone access to the Internet in the States and there is a pilot WiFI network in San Francisco which in exchange for free access serves up Google Local ads.

What else could Google do with telephony technology? I like the idea of an SMS archive. I'd certainly use a Gmail like interface to search through months old text messages which I've long since deleted from my phone. I would not object if there happened to be AdWords on the interface. Mobile phones also let the uber-networks know where you are - and what better way to perfect Local or locally-bias search results?

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