Google's Handsets Not Feeling So Lucky

There was never any doubt that the reigning champion of online search would eventually turn its gaze towards the mobile phone industry. What's surprising is the number of stumbling blocks it is facing in making its presence felt in this sector.

Just last November, Google and partners hailed a brave new world of handsets equipped with Android, a suite of software tailored to act as an operating system and facilitate the development of several intriguing applications. T-Mobile expects to deliver on this promise by the end of 2008 but other carriers are struggling with incorporating Android into their current product lines and have fallen well behind announced schedules. Complications have included difficulty in programming applications in the unfamiliar software and getting it to conform to the requirements of individual carriers.

Google has proven to have the golden touch in most of its past ventures but is not proving to be so lucky so far in its pursuit of cell-phone based advertising revenue. The Apple iPhone and Blackberry are more comfortable in this domain and Google has a real test on its hands.