Comment: Gphones need to be more open

Open environment
I hope this opportunity is available for all players as Android handsets emerge from the LGs and Motorolas of the world. "This was about making a great powerful platform for us to build on that isn't controlled by any one entity," Miner said, in what I took as a reference to Microsoft.

I heard similar echoes of concerns about having an open environment at the launch of Chrome, Google's new browser. I am reminded of an old saying in the industry. "What I do is open, what you do is proprietary."

Years ago, Microsoft was charged with antitrust violations because prosecutors alleged it used its dominance in PC OS to gain an unfair advantage in applications such as browsers. Today, Microsoft is still under antitrust scrutiny.

I believe the industry needs to embrace products like Android to enable the Mobile Web. But I also believe the industry needs to monitor whether Google will try to leverage its dominance in Web search and advertising to gain an unfair foothold in the emerging mobile world.

- Rick Merritt
EE Times

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