In a move that will see Samsung go head to head with mobile phone maker HTC it has been revealed that the Korean phone maker is set to roll out three brand new Google Android phones with a layer of Samsung developed software being used as the interface to the Google operating system.
In a move that will see Samsung go head to head with mobile phone maker HTC it has been revealed that the Korean phone maker is set to roll out three brand new Google Android phones with a layer of Samsung developed software being used as the interface to the Google operating system.
At the recent CTIA Wireless trade show in the USA, Dr. Won-Pyo Hong, executive vice president of global product strategy in the company’s mobile communication division revealed details about the company’s previously secret Android strategy.
He said that Samsung plans to release several Android devices this year with the first Android phone slated to launch in June or July in Australia. He said that consumers will have their pick of two other Android devices sometime in the second half of the year, Hong also said that different phone carriers will have different versions of the phone.
Due to operator preferences the Android phones will look “totally different,” Hong said. Hong also revealed that several carriers around the world are concerned about where Google is going with their Google Android offering and that Samsung was waiting, in part, for a go-ahead from its operator partners. “Some operators were concerned about the vision Google has [and] that affected [timing],” Hong said.
He also revealed that Samsung wanted to develop their own version of Android. Hong drew a distinction between devices built on the Android platform and “Google Experience” devices, which not only use Android but are also Google-centric, packed with the search giant’s own applications. “Our commitment is more to the Android phone than the Google Experience device,” Hong said. He also admitted to Fortune Magazine that Samsung is doing a lot of customisation work on top of the Android platform to make operators happy.
Hong says its carrier partners are content with the timing. “We are launching [Android] devices later than HTC, but in terms of our commitments with carriers, there is no delay at all,” he added.
It is believed that Vodafone will be the first carrier in Australia to get the new Google Android phone from Samsung.
