We all heard lately many rumors about the G2, the second HTC Android phone. We tried to confirm or decline some of the rumors, but “we are unable to comment on Internet rumors regarding images that are purported to reflect HTC designs” a HTC spokesperson told OHM; he added “we saw the same link, and are certainly glad to see that people are interested in HTC”. We got instead an exclusive interview with Ed Kuhner, Sr. Product Manager for GSM Devices, HTC.

Ed was one of the panelist in the latest CES 09 edition, and even if I knew that I won’t get any scoop, I wanted to thank Ed for taking the time to answer our questions.

Q1 - Almost four months since the HTC G1 was officially launched, Are your sales expectation the same (US and worldwide) ? Is there some numbers already available for 2008 ?

While we have not announced the official number of G1 units shipped to date, we are certainly pleased not only with the sales numbers, but with the positive reaction we have gotten from consumers that are currently using the G1 in their daily lives.

Q2 - We heard many positive and negative feedback about G1, what’s your next biggest challenge for the G2 ?  Design Improvements, performance, new features (I don’t think G1 missed any), battery life, storage … ?

We unfortunately cannot comment on any future products, but it is important to know that continuous improvement is a large part of the HTC culture, and we always find ways to build on even successful products like the G1.

Q3 - Until “G1″, HTC was manufacturing mostly windows-mobile based smartphones (PDA,Touch, …) How did you find the Android experience so far ?

Overall, we have found that developing products based on the Android platform to be a positive experience, and I can say that the reaction from our customers has been equally positive.

Q4 - How do you compare Open Handset Alliance (OHA) work, to other linux mobile alliances such LIMO, LIPS … ? Why you are part of OHA and not of others ?

As you note, we are not members of other mobile alliances, so we are not in a position to compare OHA against other groups. HTC strives to be a leader in the technologies in which it develops and markets products. To do this, HTC focuses its efforts on two platforms - Windows Mobile and Android. In this way, HTC is able to bring world class products to market with unique and differentiated value propositions.

Q5 - If windows still dominating the desktop market, do you think that linux and open source could conquer the mobile market ?

HTC believes that the dynamic wireless market is large enough to support many competing platforms, and that the innovation bred by this competition ultimately benefits the end consumer. At HTC, we are focused on Windows Mobile and Android, both of which offer unique benefits to consumers, and are well poised for success in the growing smartphone market.

Q6 - What will the next HTC smartphone be using : windows-mobile, Android, or other mobile platform ?

HTC is committed to bringing new Windows Mobile and Android products to market, and you can expect to see a combination of devices based on both of these platforms in 2009.

Popularity: 9%

It’s obvious that 2008 is the year of mobile Linux. Nokia announced today the acquisition of Trolltech, a lead company in Embedded Linux, for $153M. Nokia, major owner of Symbian, said that the acquisition will enable the company to accelerate its cross-platform software strategy for mobile devices and desktop applications, and develop its Internet services business.

“The technology landscape evolves and, for Nokia, software plays a major role in our growth strategy for devices, PCs and the integration with the Internet. We continue to focus on areas where we can differentiate and add more value. Common cross-platform layers on top of our software platforms attract innovation and enable Web 2.0 technologies in the mobile space,” said Kai Öistämö, Executive Vice President, Devices, Nokia. “Trolltech’s deep understanding of open source software and its strong technology assets will enable both Nokia and others to innovate on our device platforms while reducing time-to-market. This acquisition will also further increase the competitiveness of S60 and Series 40.”

A new challenge is awaiting Nokia and Symbian to keep its market share and possibly gain more in the current and next years. It was expected that a company such Motorola make the move to acquire Trolltech since it already use Qtopia for many of its handsets.

Nokia seems to be more interested into making SymbianOS better, not just introducing more Linux devices using Qt/embedded Trolltech technology. Trolltech is more ambitious to see their dream becoming true and that “Qt everywhere” won’t be just a slogan.

The question is, How will Symbian be affected by Trolltech purchase ?

Popularity: 8%

A la mobile, leading Linux systems platform and open source technology company for mobile devices, announced this week the first Android platform running on HTC Qtek 9090 advanced smartphone. Application demonstrated include : browser, phone dialer, audio player, maps, camera, games, calendar, contacts manager, calculator, tasks manager and notes. Below a screenshot of the a la mobile Android-based demo phone :

While all rumors and breaking news were about HTC to provide the first Android phones, a la mobile confirmed this orientation and got better : the first HTC phone using a complete mobile Linux stack based on Android.

“While mobile Linux has made steady progress in the industry since 2006, Google’s advocacy with the unveiling of the Android framework further substantiates the position of Linux as a major mobile operating system alongside Windows Mobile and Symbian,” said Pauline Lo Alker, President and CEO of a la Mobile, Inc. “However, despite the market enthusiasm about Google Android, many questions remain concerning the technical details, and skepticism exists concerning its readiness. As the leader in mobile Linux, we believe it is our responsibility to take the initiative to allay the ‘mystery’ and dispel any skepticism surrounding Android by first demonstrating a complete mobile Linux system stack, including drivers, middleware, and a suite of Android-based applications running on an existing advanced smartphone manufactured by one of the premier handset vendors in the market.”

It’s true that there are many missing information about Android platform itself until today, but according to a la mobile they are providing a complete mobile stack solution : device drivers, Linux kernel, system utilities, mobile middleware (such as security, device management, provisioning, etc.), an application framework (Android) that supports JAVA services, browser, and miscellaneous applications for the end device.

“Despite the open-source nature of the Android framework, developing a complete mobile system solution with customized, differentiated features continues to present major technical challenges requiring considerable time, effort, and resources — a barrier and reach beyond the scope of many handset vendors,” continues Alker. “Our mission is to remove the complexity for handset vendors and mobile operators to enable them to accelerate their device time-to-market, ensure high quality while reducing total development and device costs. The experience we have gained in putting together this demo will enable us to trim a device’s time-to-market by at least half!”

About A la mobile

Founded in 2005, a la Mobile has already established itself as the leader in developing and delivering one-stop, commercial-grade complete Linux system stacks for mobile devices: integrated, customized, certified, supported and maintained. The Company’s first Linux system offering - Convergent Linux Platform (CLP) version 1.0 - based on the Qt application framework by Trolltech, was first introduced in 2006 and adopted by several handset vendors.

Popularity: 17%

Monday December 10th, the Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) completed the release of 1.0 specifications, to targets interoperability and marketability of Linux-based mobile phones through shared open standards and implementations. LiPS forum have been founded in 2005 and include operators and services providers from France, Italy and UK, in addition equipment and Chip manufacturers, and software vendors.

With Android release, LiPS published an FAQ on the differences between their standardization effort and OHA :

LiPS and Android both seek to reduce fragmentation among Linux-based mobile platforms. LiPS seeks unity through open standards, while Android/OHA does so through shared code.

Effort for Mobile linux stardization isn’t new at all, and beside the LiPS we count also the ELC Mobile Linux Initiative (MLI), Linux Mobile Foundation (LiMo), the embedded linux consortium, and the Gnome embedded initiative. There are also many others individual efforts by companies acting in the linux mobile business. According to ABI research, by 2012 there will be approximately 127 million Linux smartphones shipped each year.

It’s true that OHA and Android are boosted by Google, so should the LiPS profit from Android or should Android learn from the LiPS ?

Popularity: 12%