Android May Expand the Reach of Mobile Communities

Android is the codename for Google’s new operating system. Their new G1 mobile device, which runs Android, is currently available for a subsidized price of $179 through T-Mobile. This is news because Android is not just another operating system – like Linux, it would be entirely open-source. Online communities would benefit from developers being able to create software for mobile devices. Up until now, this has not been easy or convenient.

Individuals are already linked by implicit and explicit connections on their cell phones through text messaging, instant messaging (on some devices), and address books. Yet, for the most part, it is not possible to run applications created by developers unaffiliated with your phone manufacturer. The uninhibited development of applications through Android opens a lot of doors. Consider the sheer variety of ways you connect with friends and family through the Internet on your computer, and the rich environment offered by a site such as Facebook. Certain functionality, such as audio and video recording, is difficult to achieve on devices with web-based software. This may be the push Mobile devices need to be integrated into new aspects of the life of Americans, if it gains the momentum needed to go mainstream.

One of Zittrain’s main points in “The Future of the Internet, and How to Stop It” is that closed systems such as the iPhone do not engender technological evolution. The earliest computers were designed to be hackable. By comparison, Apple has taken a clear stance by limiting the free development of applications, and not being entirely open source. For instance, applications may not duplicate the functionality of existing applications. If they do, they will be removed. In other words, Apple enforces a policy against competition. This differs from the “kill switch” on Android, which would deactivate an application after a problematic application is detected. Apple simply doesn’t allow certain applications to run in the first place. Even Apple co-founder “the Woz” (Steve Wozniak) is pessimistic about the future of their current line of devices. iPods have achieved saturation, and he sees the “walled garden” of the iPhone’s development environment as the wrong path.

While I find much of the press surrounding “wearable computing” to be hyperbole, an “always on” connection carried by most people has the potential to change how we consider “community” and relate with others. Certain countries have already started to skip the personal computer entirely; in China, for instance, it is common for young people to have their own mobile device, but not a computer of their own. How communities use mobile devices is currently being explored at Annenberg through projects such as Immigrant Voices. Francois Bar, Manuel Castells, and Jeff Cole are also conducting ongoing research on the topic.