a phone … iPhone … gPhone

Never being one to be left out of the club, Google’s move into the mobile phone market is coming to fruition with the alpha release of the Android open source phone operating system.

Everyone knows about the [expensive] iPhone and the mobile enthusiasts amongst you will be familiar with Windows Mobile and the Symbian OSs, but most folks with a smartphone want it to be able to share it’s smarts working interoperatively with their other gadgets and easily customizable … the Android system is the first major departure down the open source route.

Open source means that the code and functionality of the software is available for everyone to review, improve and contribute to. One of the most notable products of open source is the Firefox web browser and proof positive that many hands make light work … and do it better.