Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated mobile product of 2008, Google's much-hyped mobile platform, could emerge as the first really popular open source mobile as of its kind. Although details of what Android will offer are sketchy at the moment, there are enough indications that it could change mobile phone usage as we know it. For one, it could pose a huge threat to the enterprise device segment by offering applications such as office suites, push mail and GPS at very low costs, or even free of cost.

For another, it is likely to spawn a generation of cell phones that are always connected to the Internet, as most of the applications on Android will actually run online! Not surprisingly, Google's entire suite of online applications will be accessible to Android users-from Google Earth, Google Docs and Gmail, to Picasa. Making all this possible will be a browser that Google claims contains all the features of a standard desktop browser and will therefore enable users to access the Net on their cell phones, exactly as they would on a computer.

Besides, phones running Android are likely to be less expensive since the as will be free of cost, as will most of the software running on it, although users will have to fork our extra bucks to access the Internet on their devices. Rumour has it that Android-enabled phones will be offered by operators along with specific data transfer packages, just like some enterprise devices are made available these days. Of course, Microsoft and Symbian are not too impressed, but then, they wouldn't be!

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