The Origin Of Google's Android

Last year, the web started buzzin’ that Google would enter the mobile phone arena, but no one knew what that meant. Google is a different kind of company, which means consumers, speculators, and investors were expecting something, well, different. Many assumed it would be a “gPhone”, an evolved hardware device featuring a Google OS and applications, but the story behind Android is hardly about a device or an OS. Instead, you’ll find the typical Google train of thought at work: if it sucks for consumers, make it better for them and make some money in the process.

Consumers deal with a lot of BS and are highly under-appreciated by their corporate overlords — we all know this. Andy Rubin also understands this. The man is one of the leading minds behind the Sidekick and its Danger OS, and when he launched it, he made Google the device’s default search engine. This was surprising to the web-giant, who was hardly a giant since it was doing worse than Lycos at the time.

Moving forward to 2005, the Sidekick’s success gets Rubin’s foot in Google’s door. He requests a meeting with Google boss Larry Page regarding another mobile phone product. Google was introduced to Android, but as it turns out, Android was hardly a mobile phone product.Wired‘s detailed piece on the story behind Android explains the theory behind the OS.

Rubin said his startup, called Android, had the solution: a free, open source mobile platform that any coder could write for and any handset maker could install. He would make his money by selling support for the system — security services, say, or email management. Android would have the spirit of Linux and the reach of Windows. It would be a global, open operating system for the wireless future.

Android is entirely customizable in pretty much every way imaginable — hardware and software. Furthermore, the number of cell phones in the market towers over the number of PCs, though, this was something Page and others knew well. Rubin’s pitch suddenly set Google’s sights on the untapped market that is the mobile Internet, but it also gave Google the vehicle to do it. Instead of simply backing the Rubin and his startup, Google bought Android ASAP.

…and that’s the origin of Android.

Following Google’s announcement of Android late last year, the company proposed a $10 Million challenge to developers worldwide. It has also been testing Android-equipped handsets in a private mobile network, which might have something to do with Google’s recent deal withClearwire. Got some extra time? Check out an Android video demo.