Open Handset Alliance: The new way forward for mobile?

With the announcement of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) led by Google and more than 30 key industry players this week, the launch of the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices is now on trial. Ted Cohen, chair of the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) Americas board, asks if by focusing so heavily on the technology players, the alliance is missing a crucial part of the industry.

Open Handset Alliance: The new way forward for mobile?
By Ted Cohen

The Open Handset Alliance stakes its claim as the pathway to creating a new attractive industry environment focused on supporting innovation. By doing this, we are told that it will make it easier to bring new, innovative applications and services to the mobile market, providing consumers with a better experience. At first look, this will benefit both operators and consumers. Operators will have the flexibility to customize and optimize specific carrier-branded services and user interfaces to allow them to generate increased ARPU. For consumers this platform intends to provide easier access to the most relevant information, content and innovative services.

If the OHA can live up to its fanfare, then we at MEF do see a huge potential for it to help dramatically accelerate innovation and market growth. What seems to set the Android platform apart is the commitment of a broad group of industry leaders, and the fact that the software development kit (SDK) will be ready for even a “first look” as early as next week is very encouraging.

Yet there is still a vital, and very obvious, missing link in the current make-up of the OHA. Whilst the alliance has brought together leading players from across the technology value chain, it appears not to have engaged with the content and developer communities. These include the full creative community spectrum from games developers and mobile content specialists through to record labels and Hollywood film studios. If these communities are to be expected to use the Android platform to bring their ideas into the market, they surely need to be involved in the design and specification of that platform.

Unlike existing proprietary platforms, Android can give the content community free reign to develop new and imaginative mobile applications--many of which will be completely revolutionary and this is exactly what makes it so exciting. The explosion in web-based 2.0 applications has not yet been replicated on mobile, and the promise of a “better than PC” wireless internet experience must be incredibly seductive for the creative brains of the developer community.

Despite the potential of the Android platform, its business model is currently far from transparent. Mobile entertainment and content has been at the heart of creating value for mobile and the industry currently weighs in at $25 billion globally. Content is critical to building an audience for any mobile platform and therefore we need to understand the business model for Google and all key players, including the content companies, to fully appreciate how the value chain will benefit from this.

Google has built its name on two key strengths: a single-minded dedication to consumer ease of use and quality of experience, and an innovative and ambitious approach to championing different ways to do business. Both these strengths could be of great value in achieving the aims that the OHA has laid out, but the creative input from the people who understand mobile entertainment and content best will be vital to ensuring a successful delivery to consumers.

If Android is to mark a step change in the move to turn mobile into a genuine media, the OHA needs to continue to build its engagement with all the key players in the value chain--not just the technology builders, but the teams that will create new content and services that will really capture all of our imaginations.