Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC) is preparing to launch its first Android mobile phone, which will be running the second-version of Google’s cellphone operating system, said Peter Ang, Sony Ericsson’s VP of marketing. Ang told digitimes that the Android 2.0 operating system will have more multimedia support than the previous Android OS, but did not provide a timeline for when it may be available.
It was just yesterday that we learned from Google’s Andy Rubin in an interview with CNet that he wished that the Android 1.0 was closer to the next iteration of the operating system, which has yet to roll out on any mass scale. Rubin: “1.5 was the product I wished was 1.0.” Basically, they ran out of time. The parts were ordered, therefore the software had to be done, too. “Widgets are literally coming down a factory line, and if software isn’t ready by the time they reach the end of the line they’re going to drop on the floor and pile up. And that winds up costing a lot of people a lot of money. And if you don’t get it right, you’re kind of hosed.”
Sony Ericsson is smart to wait and see how Android performed and then hold out for a more polished version. And if the second version sports more multimedia capabilities, it fits perfectly with the company’s new entertainment focus. Rubin said the T-Mobile G1, built by HTC, was essential because it proved Google (NSDQ: GOOG) could make an operating system. “What we wanted to do for our market entry was make sure that we had one successful showcase product to prove that the product was reliable and robust and ready to go.”
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