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Municipal Wi-Fi Analyst Questions Google’s Commitment to Android OS

6:30 am on October 22, 2008 | Category: Business, Cell Phones, Software, Web Services

Google’s long-awaited mobile operating system, Android, becomes available throughout the U.S. today, with the launch of T-Mobile’s G1 smartphone. But even as customers line up to buy this hot new device, some industry observers have their doubts about its long term prospects.

Craig Settles, a leading analyst in the municipal Wi-Fi field, recently compared the Android OS to Google’s plan of offering free wireless broadband access in cities throughout America (which never panned out).

Detailing several of the many challenges facing Android, Settles asks us to consider the “show me the money test.”

“When some higher up at Google sat down and asked the question, show me the money in muni wireless (particularly after EarthLink folded its hand), the argument for potential ad revenue didnâ€™t seal the deal,” Settles writes on his blog. “So whereâ€™s the money for Google in Android? They donâ€™t sell the operating system, they donâ€™t sell the applications that run on Android phones and they donâ€™t lock in phones to use Google service and that makes ad revenue somewhat speculative.”

Settles speculates that if Android isn’t wildly profitable, Google might just “picks up its chips and move on in a year or so.”

A pessimistic interpretation, of course, but one that needs to be considered. Whether Google Android makes it into the big leagues alongside Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Symbian, and iPhone, remains a big question mark.

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