First Android from LG; openness from Myriad

It seems that no mobile maker wants to be without at least one Android device on its roster, and LG is no different. The LG GW620 should be released by the end of this month - and the Korean giant has announced that mobile software provider Myriad will be its partner for different types of open mobile application

Who is Myriad?

Myriad is kind of like the mobile software version of a musical supergroup. It was formed earlier this year by the merger of of French company Purple Labs with the Swiss Esmertec. Both of these companies already had wide portfolios in mobile software, and a lot of different deals with various companies. As a result, Myriad has software embedded on around 2 billion mobile handsets worldwide, and thanks to its variety of subsidiaries has a presence in pretty much all of the big mobile industry sellers. The company produces apps, browsers, software and messaging services for mobile.

Myriad is also big into openness. It is a founding member of the Open Mobile Alliance, and earlier this year joined the Symbian Foundation. And LG has selected Myriad to ensure that all Open Mobile Alliance and Java applications work perfectly with the Android OS on the GW620.

Open Mobile Alliance?

The OMA was one of the first groups to tackle fragmentation in the mobile market. Created by an alliance of almost 200 companies in 2002, it maintains some pretty important standards in the mobile industry, including WAP and MMS. It also has a bunch of OMA specifications that can be used by anyone who wants, covering mobile technologies from DRM to Instant Messaging, Internet Protocol and firmware updates.

Simon Wilkinson, CEO of Myriad, said “Android is a very exciting platform as it allows mobile operators to quickly bring advanced features to their customers. This partnership will enable LG to benefit from our proven mobile technology, bringing the best possible experience to the user.”

What we think?

This story represents both the best and the worst of what Android has to offer. At it’s best, you see a company like LG that wants to create an Android device… and it can. It can create an Android aimed at whatever market segment it likes. This adaptable OS can be carefully tailored to fit any kind of device. But you’ve also got the problem of device fragmentation. How can you guarantee a consistent application experience across so many different kinds of devices? At a shared application and service level, Android is it’s own worst enemy. So it’s good to see that LG is bringing someone like Myriad in from the ground level - trying to guarantee that level of openness in the application platform will really help Android out in the long run.