Hi all, I’m Jon Usry, Marketing Manager for RipCode and new contributor to the RipCode blog. After much prior speculation - industry analyst and bloggers alike now have new material to discuss as Google has officially pulled back the curtains to shed light on their highly anticipated mobile strategy.

In his recent post, Where’s my Gphone?, Andy Rubin - Google’s Director of Mobile Platforms, discusses the announcement of Android – an open mobile platform designed to deliver an entire software stack necessary to run a mobile phone including an operating system, user-interface and applications.

Through collaboration with the Open Handset Alliance on this initiative, Google has already secured the commitment and support from key players across the mobile landscape.  On the surface, this appears to be a brilliant move as it assures Google considerable distribution coverage via partnerships with established mobile operators, a diversified technology portfolio comprised of multiple handset OEMs and finally an extensive mobile applications offering driven by software companies looking to integrate their wares with Google’s platform.

As for timing - Mobile device OEM’s are targeting a Google-phone launch sometime in the 2nd half of 2008 and Google expects to release the SDK to developers as early as next week.  With a 6-9 month lead time before Google phones are commercially available, developers will no doubt be ready to deliver a plethora of mobile applications that enriches the Google-phone experience.

On a final note, positioning for a 3rd or 4th QTR launch in 2008 means one thing – Holiday sales!  Mobile operators and handset OEMs will soon start collaborating on marketing programs to ensure that early adopters everywhere will have a Gphone at the top of their holiday wish list.