Open Handset Alliance
Overview
Building a better phone for consumers
Today, there are 1.5 billion television sets in use around the world. 1 billion
people are on the Internet. But nearly 3 billion people have a mobile phone, making
it one of the world's most successful consumer products. Building a better mobile
phone would enrich the lives of countless people across the globe. The Open Handset
Alliance™ is a group of mobile and technology leaders who share this vision for
changing the mobile experience for consumers.
Innovating in the open
Each member of the Open Handset Alliance is strongly committed to greater openness
in the mobile ecosystem. Increased openness will enable everyone in our industry
to innovate more rapidly and respond better to consumers' demands. Our first joint
project as a new Alliance is Android™. Android was built from the ground up with
the explicit goal to be the first open, complete, and free platform created specifically
for mobile devices.
Making the vision a reality
Android is not just a blueprint for the faraway future, but a complete platform
that will give mobile operators, handset manufacturers, and developers everything
they need to build innovative devices, software and services. We are committed to
commercially deploy handsets and services using the Android Platform in the second
half of 2008.
* Figures above from Berg Insight, eMarketer, and Pyramid
FAQ
What is the Open Handset Alliance™?
The Open Handset Alliance is a group of more than 30 technology and mobile companies
who have come together to accelerate innovation in mobile and offer consumers a
richer, less expensive, and better mobile experience. Together we have developed
Android™, the first complete, open, and free mobile platform. We are committed to
commercially deploy handsets and services using the Android Platform in the second
half of 2008.
What types of companies are in the Open Handset Alliance?
All parts of the mobile ecosystem are represented in the Alliance. Members include
mobile operators, handset manufacturers, semiconductor companies, software companies,
and commercialization companies. The current list of members can be found
here [ http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/oha_members.html ].
What have members of the Alliance committed to?
All members of the Alliance have committed to making the initial version of the
platform a commercial success. Some companies have contributed significant intellectual
property to the Alliance that will be released under the Apache v2 Open Source license.
Others are working to make sure their chipsets support the platform. Handset manufacturers
and mobile operators are working to develop handsets based on the platform. Commercialization
partners are working with the industry to support the platform via a professional
services model.
Why is an open platform good for consumers?
Consumers will see cheaper and more innovative mobile devices and services, which
will inevitably feature more engaging, easier-to-use interfaces -- as well as a
rich portfolio of applications.
Why is an open platform good for mobile operators?
The overall cost of handsets will be lower and mobile operators will have complete
flexibility to customize and differentiate their product lines. Furthermore, they
will see much more rapid innovation in handsets and in services.
Why is an open platform good for handset manufacturers?
Handset manufacturers will benefit from lower software BOM (bill of material)
costs and faster time-to-market for handsets. In addition, they will have greater
flexibility to customize and differentiate their product offerings.
Why is an open platform good for semiconductor companies?
As cellphone-on-a-chip becomes closer to reality, semiconductor companies will
need access to more sophisticated software that takes advantage of the enhanced
features of these solutions. The processors of tomorrow will be multi-core and have
access to shared peripherals such as 3D graphics, signal processor cores and dedicated
blocks for multi media acceleration, etc. Without support for these peripherals
in the platform, semiconductor companies have no clear way to give 3rd party developers
access to this enhanced functionality. An open platform helps semiconductor companies
add support for their newest products in a timely manner.
Why is an open platform good for software companies?
An open platform allows for simplified integration of software components into
a complete mobile platform, and the lower acquisition cost of the mobile platform
will increase the ability of handset manufacturers to invest in high value and differentiated
software components.
Why is an open platform good for developers?
Developers will be able innovate rapidly because they will have comprehensive
API access to handset capabilities that are web-ready. They will experience increased
productivity because they will have comprehensive and easy-to-use developer tools.
And because open source offers a deeper understanding of the underlying mobile platform,
they can better optimize their applications. Finally, the distribution and commercialization
of mobile apps will be less expensive and easier.
Who can join the Open Handset Alliance?
The Open Handset Alliance brings together companies in the mobile ecosystem that
each contribute to the effort in various ways. We welcome companies willing to make
serious and ongoing contributions to openness in the mobile world.
Who do we contact to learn about joining the Open Handset Alliance?
Email us at info@openhandsetalliance.com
Members
Mobile Operators
- China Mobile Communications Corporation
- www.chinamobile.com/en
- KDDI CORPORATION
- www.kddi.com
- KDDI is a telecommunication operator that provides wide-ranging services
from mobile to fixed in Japan.
- NTT DoCoMo, Inc.
- www.nttdocomo.com
- NTT DoCoMo is the world's leading mobile communications operator, with 53
million customers, of which 40 million use the 3G/ FOMA service based on W-CDMA
technology.
- Sprint Nextel
- www2.sprint.com/mr/aboutsprint.do
- Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications
services including the fastest and largest national mobile broadband network,
a broad portfolio of devices and an wide array of applications, which enable
customers to do the things that matter the most to them instantly and on the
go – at SprintSpeed™.
- T-Mobile
- www.t-mobile.net
- Serving more than 112 million mobile customers in Europe and the U.S., T-Mobile
is one of the world's leading companies in mobile communications, and the mobile
telecommunications subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT)
- Telecom Italia
- www.telecomitalia.it
- Supplying 34.3 mobile lines, around 23 million landlines and 7.3 million
broadband clients, Telecom Italia is a Italy's leading ICT enterprise with a
significant international presence in Europe and South America. The Group trades
through pre-eminent brands Telecom Italia, Alice, TIM, La7, MTV Italia, APCom
and Olivetti in fixed-line and mobile telecommunications, Internet and media,
office & system solutions.
- Telefónica
- www.telefonica.es
- Telefónica is one of the largest telecommunication companies in the world,
providing communication, information and entertainment solutions, with presence
in Europe, Africa and Latin America and with more than 212 million clients of
fixed and mobile services.
-
Semiconductor Companies
- Audience
- www.audience.com
- Audience is a voice processor company that enables clear communications
anywhere with noise suppression technology based on the intelligence of the
human hearing system.
- Broadcom Corporation
- www.broadcom.com
- Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in
semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, providing products that
enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the
home, the office and the mobile environment.
- Intel Corporation
- www.intel.com/products/mid
- Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products
and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live.
- Marvell Semiconductor, Inc.
- www.marvell.com
- Marvell is a leader in development of storage, communications, and consumer
silicon solutions with a diverse product portfolio that powers the entire communications
infrastructure from enterprise solutions to mobile consumer devices.
- NVIDIA Corporation
- www.nvidia.com/page/handheld
- NVIDIA is the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies.
Its GoForce family of multimedia applications processors are designed for the
mobile phone, PMP and PND markets.
- Qualcomm Inc.
- www.qualcomm.com
- Qualcomm Incorporated is a leader in developing and delivering innovative
digital wireless communications products for advanced devices around the world.
- SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc.
- www.sirf.com
- SiRF is the leading provider of GPS enabled location platforms for mainstream
markets with focus on wireless, automotive, consumer electronic and mobile compute
devices.
- Synaptics, Inc.
- www.synaptics.com
- Synaptics, Inc., providing easy-to-use interface solutions for mobile phones,
personal media players, notebooks and PC peripherals, supplies a variety of
user input solutions for mobile devices that make accessing digital content
easy and fun.
- Texas Instruments Incorporated
- www.ti.com/wirelessresources
- TI is a leading manufacturer of wireless semiconductors, delivering the
heart of today's wireless technology and building solutions for tomorrow.
Handset Manufacturers
- HTC Corporation
- www.htc.com
- HTC Corporation focuses on driving cutting-edge innovation into a wide variety
of mobile devices to create the perfect match for individuals. The company is
listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498.
- LG Electronics, Inc.
- www.lge.com
- LG, the brand that is Delightfully Smart, is a global leader and technology
innovator in consumer electronics, home appliances and mobile communications.
LG's vision is to supply top-of-the-range innovative digital products and services
and ensure customer satisfaction.
- Motorola, Inc.
- www.motorola.com
- Motorola is known around the world for innovation and leadership in wireless
and broadband communications.
- Samsung Electronics
- www.samsung.com
- A leading innovator and provider of mobile phones and telecom systems.
-
Software Companies
- Ascender Corp.
- www.ascendercorp.com/oha.html
- Ascender Corp. is a leading provider of advanced font products and innovative
applications for mobile devices.
- eBay Inc.
- www.ebay.com
- Esmertec
- www.esmertec.com
- Esmertec is a leading provider of multi-media solutions and end-to-end integration
services that accelerate time-to-market and reduce operational costs for OEMs
and Operators.
- Google Inc.
- www.google.com
- Our mission is to organize all the world's information and make it universally
accessible and useful.
- LivingImage LTD.
- www.livingimage.jp
- A unique company that consists of renowned engineering, marketing and creative
experts in the audio visual arena.
- NMS Communications
- www.nmscommunications.com
- NMS Communications (NASDAQ: NMSS) is a leading provider of technologies
and solutions for mobile applications and infrastructure.
- Nuance Communications, Inc.
- www.nuance.com
- Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a leading provider of speech and
imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world.
- PacketVideo (PV)
- www.pv.com
- PacketVideo (PV) is a nine-year-old multimedia software company whose software
powers the world's leading mobile entertainment services, including Verizon
Wireless' VCAST music and video services, NTT DoCoMo's 3-G FOMA service and
Orange World by Orange.
- SkyPop
- www.skypop.com
- Next generation services for mobile devices.
- SONiVOX
- www.sonivoxrocks.com
- SONiVOX is a premier developer of audio technologies and solutions that
empower consumers to create Sound That Rocks.
-
Commercialization Companies
- Aplix Corporation
- www.aplixcorp.com
- Aplix Corporation enables mobile handset manufacturers to have a faster,
lower development cost and lower risk route to deploy wireless Java solutions
- Noser Engineering Inc.
- www.noser.com/oha
- Noser Engineering Inc. - core contributor of the Android Platform is your
integrator and customization partner.
- TAT - The Astonishing Tribe AB
- www.tat.se
- TAT - The Astonishing Tribe - a specialist in mobile user interfaces, recognized
for its design capabilities and for its software solutions that enable richer
user experiences on any platform, to date embedded in more than 140 million
devices.
- Wind River
- www.windriver.com/oha
- Wind River enables companies to develop, run, and manage device software
faster, better, at lower cost and more reliably.
Copyright 2012