News.blog: ARM demos Google Android handset

Prototypes of the first mobile handsets using Google's Android software debuted at the GSMA's Mobile World Congress here on Monday, and I got a sneak peek at a demonstration.

Google launched Android, an open development platform in November. Phones sporting the Android software are expected out later this year. Google also announced the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 34 handset manufacturers, carriers and chipmakers that have said they plan to support Android products and services.

I was one of several journalists to get a private demonstration of Android at the ARM Holdings booth here at the show. New.com blogger Tom Krazit reported last week that ARM was planning to show off a prototype.

ARM's technology is found at the heart of almost every mobile phone on the planet. The company designs the processor cores that companies like Texas Instruments, Samsung and Marvell manufacture into chips that run mobile phones and smart phones.

ARM has the Android software running on a prototype device using the ARM9 processor technology, which is already two generations old. The mocked-up handset resembled a full Qwerty keyboard smart phone, like Research in Motion's BlackBerry. But Bob Morris, director of platform solutions for ARM, said the ARM9 technology used on the demonstration prototype is actually used on lower-end handsets sold to the mass market, which means the functionality being demonstrated could be done on most phones sold today.

For the most part, the "welcome" screen on the Android prototype looked no different to me from that of a Windows Mobile phone or many other feature phones I've seen. There were icons on the bottom of the screen, indicating a browser or map tool. And the icons could be clicked to launch the applications.

My initial thought was, "What's the big deal? Android doesn't look like it enables anything different from what everyone else offers."

But James Bruce, North American mobile manager for marketing at ARM, said that it's not so much what Android allows mobile phone users to do, but rather what it doesn't require handset chip and device makers to do.

"Android provides a complete application framework, which can be put on chipsets with a lot less work," he said.