Ok, so there is technically no one gPhone, not yet anyway. But while many openly pan the Android announcement, I thought this is definitely a “game changing” event.

The nut of it is that the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) has announced Android, a linux-based, open platform for mobile phones. While details are slim today (the SDK is supposed to be available on the OHA website on 11/12/2007), it seems Android is as open as can be:

“The platform is every piece of software you need to build a cell phone,” added Andy Rubin, Google’s director of mobile platforms.

Excited? You should be.

An open platform will enable solution providers to continue to innovate with significantly more freedom. Today, feature phones (phones with closed operating systems) and smartphones (phones with an extensible operating system, like Windows Mobile or Symbian) have hardware and software access either

• intentionally crippled
• access blocked altogether

by the carriers. What is interesting is this is as frustrating to mobile phone manufacterers as it is to mobile phone users (consumers and enterprises alike). Just ask Ed Zander, CEO of Motorola:

“I hate my customers,” Zander recently huffed in reference to the carriers, according to The Wall Street Journal. (InformationWeek)

Android has the potential to end this type of arbitrary carrier blocking and tackling. As the Android folks will tell you, Android opens the door of possibilities, providing developers the capability to create new, innovative applications.

This is key to enterprises, large and small. Without a doubt more and more enterprises are mobilizing. I hear about it almost everyday from the many enterprises I speak with.

So is Android the enterprise mobility panacea? At this point, who knows? But it has the potential to make some very tough problems become very solvable. If the OHA can execute well, if its members can deliver in each of their areas, (namely handset vendors that deliver a variety of robust, aesthetically-pleasing, and ergonomic handsets) and if the carriers can resist the urge to lock down the OS (yes, it seems despite being an open platform, carriers may be able to close it), then the OHA has a real shot at not only delivering, but pushing other platforms, carriers, and handset manufacturers to do the same.

As Rob Markovich, our CEO, says, this is mile one in the marathon. I would like to think that with Android we are off to a solid 6-minute mile. Let’s see how the remaining 25 go.

Pej

It has been a while since I have had the chance to post. We have been working hard through launch, and speaking with loads of customer, press folks, and analysts over the last month. It has been fun, if not hectic.

As one of the founders of Agito, I was so excited to see our first trade show, the Mobile Business Expo at Interop New York, a few weeks back. Below are a few pictures (click the pictures for a larger image):

We were also honored to be selected as one of the “10 Head-Turning Products From Interop NY” by CRN. If you get a chance, you should take a look at our press coverage. The press, analysts, and much of the industry were eager to finally hear about what we were up, so the traction has been great.

What I learned:

• There is a lot of educating left to do. There was [is] a healthy chunk of enterprises that didn’t know it was possible to extend VoWLAN to dual mode phones, and have it operate seamlessly with any carrier network, all without needing to go through the carriers. The good news is that we are getting the word out, and enterprises are receptive to the message!
• Enterprises are willing to [further] invest in WiFi. I get asked quite a bit about why more enterprises have not deployed voice-ready WiFi networks, and how that impacts Agito’s solution. The answer is easy:
  

  Without an application that requires a voice-ready WLAN, like the Agito RoamAnywhere Mobility Router, enterprises don’t have a compelling reason to deploy one.

  The application drives the infrastructure, right? Every customer we met with at the Interop (and this carries across most every customer we have spoken with) was willing to augment their WLAN to make it voice-ready. They acknowledged WiFi is a low cost alternative to in-building cellular

• The carriers are “missing in action”. I was on a panel called “Strategies for Convergence” along with a major carrier (names intentionally left out to protect the, [dubiously] innocent) as well as a few carrier solution vendors. There was much debate around security, usability, cost savings, etc. but just before the session was over, an audience member asked each panelist to discuss pricing and availability of their solutions. When it came to the carrier to respond, he simply stated that he had no offering at present, and no offering planned for the near future. Most of us started chuckling, as did some of the audience, acknowledging the fact that carriers are more than happy to voice their opinions, but just aren’t able to get a solution for enterprise mobility designed and deployed.

From my perspective, it has been an exciting 18 months, from getting Agito started to the launch last month. There are real mobility challenges that enterprises need to address quickly, and we have developed groundbreaking, innovative technology to solve them. The excitement will be even greater in these next 18 months.

Pej