First Preview of the Android Plattform

Google's Android, the imho only real competitor to the iPhone SDK, if it comes to the future of mobile computing, has so far been lacking information regarding usability and its interface. However yesterday, on the Google IO Keynote, lots of details were revealed. They demonstrated the Android touchscreen prototype and explained how the main interface, webbrowser and more works. You can find demonstration videos and pictures on slashgear. Out of all "so called" iPhone Competitors, this is in my opinion the first serious solution. The interface seems to be thoughtfuly designed and easily navigable by hand / touch. The Browser has interesting options to ease the information overload on such a small device.

The iPhone has obviously stirred the mobile marked in a big way (judge for example how suddenly every new phone is being compared to the iPhone, sometimes even by the manufacturer himself), competitors haven't currently been able to offer a serious competitor though. The reason for this is rather simple: The lack of software. A quickly hacked and enhanced interface based on Symbian or Windows Mobile can't compete with a Plattform like OS X iPhone, which is on the one hand based on years of Mac OS X experience, and on the other hand has been thoughtfully designed over years.

Android however seems to adress these issues. Google has the manpower, will and backing to develop a serious plattform, and smart decisions, like building on Linux, stress the future significance of this plattform. If Apple and Google play their moves right, there might be two major mobile plattforms in the future: OS X iPhone and Android - Symbian, Windows Mobile et al moving more and more out of significance.