After much talk and speculations all over we saw the Android software platform finally made its debut at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (Spain). Texas Instruments' Ramesh Lyer, WW Ecosystem Partner Manager and, Mobile Internet Device Product Strategy Manager Wireless Terminals Business Unit, demonstrated a prototype handset which possible could be the next device based on the Android software platform. Google's Android platform was announced last year's November by the Open Handset Alliance. The platform is based on open-source code and of course Google and the Open Handset Alliance would love to see it becomes the one and only standard operating system for mobile phones.

Google announced the release of version 2.0 of Google Maps for mobile, its innovative and widely used mobile mapping and local search application. New in v2.0 is a beta version of Google’s "My Location" technology, which uses cell tower ID information to provide users with their approximate location, helping them determine where they are, what’s around them, and how to get there. Google is committed to providing users with quick and easy access to the information they need, no matter when or where they need it.

According to an exclusive special report now available from TelecomWeb, Google’s recently announced “Android” is “just another mobile Linux,” rather than any real technical innovation: i.e., no more than a convenient way for the company to pursue its real goal - to create an advertising delivery system it can control rather than innovating in telecommunications. Earlier this month, Google unveiled its long-expected thrust into the mobile-phone market. The big surprise is that it didn’t unveil a phone - the putative “Google Phone” many had been expecting.

A broad alliance of leading technology and wireless companies joined forces to announce the development of Android, the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. Google Inc., T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, Motorola and others have collaborated on the development of Android through the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of technology and mobile industry leaders. This alliance shares a common goal of fostering innovation on mobile devices and giving consumers a far better user experience than much of what is available on today's mobile platforms.