Boost from open-source?

The response to Android is beginning, though right now more people are responding to the concepts than to any hands-on experience. The concept is getting generally-high marks, though, as you'll read below, there are some notes of caution, as well. The big questions are just how much Android will actually move the market, and how much of that impact will be based on the open-source nature of the system. There's no question that an open-source framework makes it possible for many more individuals and organizations to write applications for the platform. There's also no question that the FCC, among others, has indicated significant uneasiness with allowing "just anyone" to write code that can have an impact on how a radio performs. It will be interesting to see how Android segments the application space from the radio space in the programming environment, and whether they're able to build enough of a wall to keep the FCC happy, while making the wall low enough to allow developers to create meaningful applications for the platform.

I don't have a good crystal ball for this one, though I'm excited by the possibilities of more applications for a platform. I'm also enough of a realist to know that cell phones and wireless mobile platforms aren't simple PDAs--you have to understand how the various radios will work to know how to best build meaningful apps. The learning can begin, though, and that will certainly shorten the time until we can see the beginnings of the creative new apps that Google (and most of the rest of us) want. Let the Android games begin... -Curtis