Open Handset Alliance

Open Handset Alliance logo
Abbreviation OHA
Formation 2007
Type Open mobile platform (Android) development organization
Headquarters Mountain View, California, United States
Region served
 Worldwide
Membership
 Mobile operators, Software companies, Commercialization companies, Semiconductor companies, Handset manufacturers
Parent organization
 Google
Website www.openhandsetalliance.com

The Open Handset Alliance (OHA) is a consortium of 84[1] firms to develop open standards for mobile devices. Member firms include Google, HTC, Sony, Dell, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, T-Mobile, Sprint Corporation, Nvidia, and Wind River Systems.[2]

The OHA was established on 5 November 2007, led by Google with 34 members,[2] including mobile handset makers, application developers, some mobile carriers and chip makers.[3] Android, the flagship software of the alliance, is based on an open-source license and has competed against mobile platforms from Apple, Microsoft, Nokia (Symbian), HP (formerly Palm), Samsung Electronics / Intel (Tizen, bada), and BlackBerry.

As part of its efforts to promote a unified Android platform, OHA members are contractually forbidden from producing devices that are based on incompatible forks of Android.[4][5]

Products

At the same time as the announcement of the formation of the Open Handset Alliance on November 5, 2007, the OHA also unveiled Android, an open-source mobile phone platform based on the Linux kernel.[2] An early look at the SDK was released to developers on 12 November 2007.[6]

The first commercially available phone running Android was the HTC Dream (also known as the T-Mobile G1). It was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on 18 August 2008,[7] and became available on 22 October.[8]

Members

The members of the Open Handset Alliance are:

Joining date Mobile operators Software companies Commercialisation companies Semiconductor companies Handset manufacturers
Founding members[9]
  • Aplix
  • Noser Engineering
  • The Astonishing Tribe
December 2008[10]
  • OMRON
May–June 2009
September 2009
January 2010
  • Sasken Communication Technologies Limited[16]
  • ZTE Corporation[17]
May 2010
July 2010
November 2010
Unknown
  • China Telecommunications Corporation
  • Telus[22]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Alliance FAQ | Open Handset Alliance
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Industry Leaders Announce Open Platform for Mobile Devices". Open Handset Alliance. 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  3. ↑ "Open Handset Alliance members page". Open Handset Alliance. 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  4. ↑ "Alibaba: Google just plain wrong about our OS". CNET News. September 15, 2012.
  5. ↑ Amadeo, Ron (21 October 2013). "Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary". Ars Technica (p.3). Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "Developers". Open Handset Alliance. 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  7. ↑ "FCC Approved HTC Dream". Engadget. 2008-08-18.
  8. ↑ "Google Is Calling. Will You Answer?".
  9. ↑ "Open Handset Alliance Members". 2008-10-15.
  10. ↑ "Open Handset Alliance announces 14 new members". Open Handset Alliance. 2008-12-09.
  11. ↑ "Open Handset Alliance member announcements". Open Handset Alliance. 2009.
  12. ↑ "SVOX announces its joining of the Open Handset Alliance". SVOX. 2009-05-27.
  13. ↑ "Acer announces its joining of the Open Handset Alliance". Acer. 2009-06-01.
  14. ↑ "MIPS Technologies Joins the Open Handset Alliance". MIPS Technologies, Inc. 2009-09-30.
  15. ↑ "Bouygues Telecom devient membre de l'Open Handset Alliance". bboxnews.fr. 2010-01-06.
  16. ↑ "Sasken joins Open Handset Alliance". SASKEN. 2010-01-22.
  17. ↑ "ZTE to launch Android handsets this quarter". ZTE. 2010-01-15.
  18. ↑ "NXP Software Joins the Open Handset Alliance" (PDF). NXP. 2010-05-18.
  19. ↑ "Access Joins the Open Handset Alliance". Access. 2010-07-91. Archived from the original on 2010-12-02. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ↑ "MediaTek Joins the Open Handset Alliance Continuous Commitment to Providing Multimedia-Rich Android Solutions". MediaTek. 2010-07-12.
  21. ↑ "VisualOn Joins the Open Handset Alliance to Enhance the Multimedia Capabilities of the Android Platform". VisualOn. 2010-11-09.
  22. ↑ "Open Handset Alliance Members Mobile Operators". 2010-12-27.

External links