Android for business
Google plans to
include support for business users in its Android operating system as soon
as this year.
Andy Rubin, Google's top Android executive, said the plan will
see Google taking on RIM's Blackberry and expanding consumer features like
social networking and gaming. Rubin said that at the moment Android does
not support many enterprise applications but in the future, he thought the
enterprise will be a good focus.
By the end of the year Google hopes to
see 15 to 20 Android phone models on the market. He did not say when
manufacturers would release models with the new business software, but
seemed to think more business stuff will be available by the end of the
year. Taking on Rim's BlackBerry is hard work, not even the iPhone has
managed to get into that area, despite Apple's best efforts.
Rubin said
Google can compete by incorporating Android with existing Google apps like
email, documents and calendars. Corporations could cut costs on hardware for
data storage if they give workers Android phones that support business
applications connected to Google's data centres, he said.