The theory behind the system is very similar to that which has made Google such a success so far: mobile advertising and revenue share are likely to become the big buzzwords for such a platform, and will need to be leveraged well to make Android a success for Google and the OHA.
The aftermath
So now the secret was out, the pressure really was on to actually get Android to market in enough time that other companies and organisations wouldn't be able to steal a march.
Here's a quick run down of the highlights of the Android development in the last 10 months:
* The OHA releases the Android developers SDK on the 12 November, just a week after announcement. The development community gets its first glimpse of what is capable, and likely begins working out the most efficient way to get adult content on a mobile handset.
* In February, a number of companies including Qualcomm and Texas Instruments had chipsets working on very basic versions of the Android OS, giving the world its first sneak preview of OS.
"Android cuts that [development time] dramatically. It's a disruptor," said Ramesh Iyer, mobile internet device manager for TI, according to PC World.
"Android is a single stack. You don't have to go looking for third-party solutions. Suddenly, they have defragmented the whole Linux ecosystem into one building block."
LiMO
* LiMO steps up its game as the main contender to Android, with US network operator Verizon signing up to the organisation, as well as Mozilla, of Firefox fame.
The former is one of the biggest networks in the US, with the latter a champion of open-source web browsing, helping to keep the dominance of the memory-hungry internet explorer at bay.
Many companies, such as LG and Samsung, have feet in nearly all the camps, Symbian, LiMO et al, so the winner is far from certain in the minds of many influential players.
* Spy pics of the new handset begin appearing all over the web as Google demonstrates the handset to conferences and exhibitions; the buzz about what could be possible with a mobile phone powered by the simplicity of Google grows.
* Nokia decides that the threat of an OS from Google is just too much to bear: it buys out Sony Ericsson, Samsung et al to take full ownership of the Symbian OS and instantly sets up the Symbian Foundation, designed to leverage the huge numbers of existing consumers that are already using the system on their handsets.
Despite the almost instant release of an SDK to the ball rolling, it's revealed the first handsets running the new and improved Symbian will be many months away - Android is still strongly placed to nab the open-source mobile market.
Negativity
* The first, and unavoidable, points of negativity over the handset arise when it's rumoured that the release date will not be until later in the 2009. This means that many are going to be left waiting to get their hands on the HTC Dream, which promised to revolutionise the way people interact with their phones.
Shares start to wobble with this news, so HTC's CFO, Hui-ming Cheng quickly issues a response stating the public will be able to get their hands on an Android powered phone in Q4 2008.
* The developer community starts to get irate as they feel Google is prioritising its 'favourite developers' and leaving the rest of them out in the cold.
They are forced to live with huge cycles while newer versions of the SDK are released, and Nicolas Gramlich, a developer, published an open letter to the Californian organisation.
Gramlich writes: "In order not to lose many highly encouraged developers, I think its [sic] time to release some news about the development process of the SDK. Maybe let us know why we have to live with these long cycles."
