Linux systems platform and open-source mobile tech firm a la Mobile announced its support of Google's Android platform via what it's calling the industry's first demonstration of applications based on the Android application framework. The Android app suite, running on HTC's Qtek 9090 advanced smartphone, includes a browser, phone dialer, audio player, maps, camera, games, calendar, contacts manager, calculator, tasks manager and notes, some boasting a la Mobile's own enhanced graphical user interface.
According to a la Mobile, its demonstration should allay concerns that Android is not quite ready for primetime. However, the firm also notes that the Android platform is an application framework, not a complete, off-the-shelf software stack. "Despite the open-source nature of the Android framework, developing a complete mobile system solution with customized, differentiated features continues to present major technical challenges requiring considerable time, effort, and resources--a barrier and reach beyond the scope of many handset vendors," said a la Mobile president and CEO Pauline Lo Alker in a prepared statement. "Our mission is to remove the complexity for handset vendors and mobile operators to enable them to accelerate their device time-to-market, ensure high quality while reducing total development and device costs. The experience we have gained in putting together this demo will enable us to trim a device's time-to-market by at least half."
For more on a la Mobile's Android suite:
-read this release
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