Android Army Grows

Everyone's getting gaga over the news that Motorola is going to launch a new line of Google Android phones specifically tailored to young people with Facebook addictions. The San Jose Mercury News seems particularly impressed, noting that T-Mobile's G1 phone will sell 500,000 units this quarter, and that Motorola's position as the fourth-largest mobile phone manufacturer in America will give Google an important partner in its quest to top the iPhone and the Blackberry. On the other hand, Barron's notes that Motorola is in deep, deep trouble. This morning, the phone manufacturer released its third quarter numbers, and even as everyone knew they wouldn't be pretty, every metric fell well short of Wall Street's expectations. Sales revenue was $300 million short of what investors hoped for, and Motorola lost 18 cents a share when people expected a two-cents-per-share profit. The company's mobile devices sector took a particularly large hit, dropping 31 percent in the last twelve months. Motorola's clearly not the most robust partner in the iPhone wars.

Fortunately, Motorola's not the only company eager to churn out an Android phone. Over at Information Week, Eric Zeman notes that thanks to Android's free software, a number of manufacturers are planning to roll out Google phones of their own. OpenMoko and the computer manufacturer AsusTek will jump in the Android business, and Hop-on, which specializes in phones "for the senior market," is working on its own Android phone. (Wait, old people need their own phones?) "With five hardware manufacturers already on board, I see Android recruiting more and more followers," Zeman writes. "The only question is, just how strong will this army become, and can it overrun the incumbent competition's stalwart defenses?"