What makes Android truly valuable to developers and users is that the entire software stack is open source, says Tom Kelly, CEO of MontaVista, which offers its own flavor of mobile Linux, as well as related development tools. To date, MontaVista has provided an open-source mobile OS, but the upper-layer functionality has been provided by a number of closed, proprietary software stacks, Kelly says. (MontaVista is not currently a member of the OHA but it plans to join, according to Kelly.)

"Enterprises will benefit [from Android] because the availability of open-source code for the entire software stack will allow the existing army of Linux developers to create special-purpose applications that will run on a variety of mobile devices," Kelly said.

Many of those applications could target specific business needs, and thanks to the open software stack, corporate smartphone users could employ a variety of devices to access the apps.

In-Stat's Hughes notes that devices built for use with a completely open platform like Android could also help companies offer a wider variety of mobile devices to their employees.

Android's Rivals See Challenges

On the other hand, Hughes, along with various critics of Android and the Open Handset Alliance, suggests that the group and its platform may not be much different than the wide array of existing consortiums working to specify a Linux-based platform for mobile devices, like the Limo Foundation, the Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum and the Open Mobile Alliance.

"The Android announcement is just another flavor of Linux for mobile phones," Hughes says.

Not surprisingly, Nigel Clifford, CEO of Symbian, which makes the world's most widely used mobile OS, downplays the significance of Android.

"There's 10, 15, 20, maybe 25 different Linux platforms out there. It sometimes appears that Linux is fragmenting faster than it unifies," Clifford said at a recent news conference in Tokyo.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, refused to comment on specifics about Android at another Tokyo conference, saying only that OHA's efforts are just "some words on paper" right now. Microsoft is pushing its own rival, the Windows Mobile OS.

Android's Route to the Enterprise: Consumer Pockets

Compared to current devices including the iPhone, Android doesn't pose any clear device management advantages for IT, Hughes says.

"There's nothing inherent in Android that will make the efforts of IT easier or harder," he says.

And like Apple, Google is targeting consumers first. When Android phones come into the enterprise, they will be consumer-purchased instead of enterprise-issued, analysts say.

"The Android platform is a consumer platform," says Ken Dulaney, a Gartner analyst who covers mobile and wireless technologies. "There are a lot more consumers [than business users], and that's where Google's aiming." As with the iPhone, many enterprises will either ban the use of Android devices or offer specialized support to certain high-level users, Dulaney predicts.