As the Android source code is released, Tim Dunn, Head of Marketing Services at Mobile Interactive Group, considers the platforms prospects for success against the iPhone

Android represents a great opportunity to develop a range of brand experiences for mobile devices. These are best addressed by looking at the similarities and differences to the iPhone/iTunes model.
Firstly, they have a raft of similar capabilities on high-end devices, integrating with mapping, phone, media, web etc. Both are equipped with SDKs for developers to build within a supported framework. Both will be supported by open marketplaces where users can download applications, and where brands, developers and content owners can put their stuff to market for free and commercially.
However, there are some telling differences that will make 2009 an intriguing year for mobile. While iPhone apps can interface with certain functionalities, the core device operating system is untouchable.
Android on the other hand, allows developers to rewrite the operating system to access the phone features outside of the app framework, thus creating phone flavours that will enable brands to own the mobile in a more seamless way. Thus an airline could create an Android app for frequent fliers that hooks the users phone up with their booking system and automatically inserts flight details in their calendar. Not only this, it can also serve them a new desktop picture every day of a great destination, and change their ringtone, e-mail alert etc accordingly.
Likewise, a football sponsor could fund an app that flavours every aspect of the fans phones, with news and quotes streamed to a custom folder accessible on the phone desktop, and all fixtures, travel updates and more inserted into the calendar and constantly updated.

Engage early
With this model, there is a the real potential for Apples lots-of-apps-in-a-row model to appear inferior in terms of creating a truly engaging and useful brand experience, and brands with an eye on utility will do well to engage with Android early.
The main issue for Google to cross is distribution, and this broken down into three separate challenges:

– Where Apple has easily capitalised on the success of iTunes to get apps out into the market, Google has to start from scratch with the Android Market.

– Google will have to hope that it can get the purchase necessary with operators and handset manufacturers to achieve mass reach. iPhones success has been built on the ownership of the entire value chain from manufacturer to content store supplier. There are differing reactions already on this front, with Nokias relationship with a defensive Symbian contrasted with the large Android team already in action at Motorola.

– Finally, the iPhone hardware is a serious object of desire, as any iPhone owner will testify, and although Android will be adaptable for a wide range of handsets, the rather ugly HTC handset is not a great starting point in attracting anyone outside of the obsessively early-adopter demographic

I should add that the other point which people always forget to mention in these discussions is that the iPhone is also an iPod and it holds your music and that is great! There, I said it.