Ballmer on Android: I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghosts
Google’s push for an open standard for mobile communications and its impressive alliance (see “Google announces the Gee-it’s-just-software-after-all phone“) are not exactly keeping Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer up at night. The Windows Mobile platform is on 150 different handsets and is available from over 100 different mobile operators, he said, while Google’s plans for its Android platform are “just some words on paper.” “Right now they have a press release,” said Ballmer. “We have many, many millions of customers, great software, many hardware devices and they’re welcome in our world.”
Actually, Ballmer needs to catch up on his RSS feeds. Android is now a press release plus a rumored first application. Valleywag has posted leaked screenshots of a map mashup from WhatsOpen.com that shows nearby stores and their hours of operation. As Marguerite Reardon at CNet explains, now it’s up to Google to persuade more developers that it will be worth getting aboard.
