Motorola is gearing up 350 Androids army, while Nokia sniffs around

Android, the mobile platform from Google is currently gaining popularity, and new followers as well.

Not many have taken notice about Motorola these days, like Palm, Motorola also still in search for the right mobile platform for its next handsets. It doesn't come to a surprise when Motorola finally announce to adopt Android, because Motorola has been one of the OHA's founding members, along with HTC, LG, and Samsung.

The first leak of rumor came in when an Android developer approached by a headhunter to join Motorola's Android team, it is said that Motorola already has 50 people in its Android team and is growing that to 350. This same source has also seen people from Nokia and Verizon at a recent Android developer conference.

It's logical for Motorola to begin adopting Android, the company has been looking a way to get back into the game and level up with competitors. One of the biggest advantage for an open platform like Android, is that manufacturers don’t have to worry about paying license fees. Which then make it suitable for struggling companies, such as Motorola, and perhaps for Palm too? Sammy has posted a link to a great editorial at PalmInfoCenter titled "Does Palm Need Android?", which shares the same presumption on whether it's best for Palm to adopt Android too or not.

But as for Nokia, it may seems like the Scandanavian company is trying to play a safe bet: keeping Android at bay, while keep pushing the Symbian platform to the limit. Even after Nokia acquired the rest of Symbian, it's not such a smart move to rely on only a single mobile platform to power up its vast handset line-ups. Who knows, perhaps Nokia is already whispering in the dark about making its own Android handset...?

The confirmation about Motorola is making its own Android products comes from BetaNews, who has been contacted by a Motorola spokesperson; here's the full text of Motorola's statement:
"Motorola is pleased to see the industry enthusiasm and support of the Android operating system. As a pioneer in mobile Linux and a founder of OHA, Motorola believes Android is it promises to be one of the most powerful, flexible and customizable open platforms, enabling truly integrated mobile hardware, software and web experiences. We're excited about the innovation possibilities on Android, and look forward to delivering great products in partnership with Google and the Open Handset Alliance community."

Personally, I'd love to see more Android based handsets in the market. The merrier the competition, is the better condition for consumers/users. But when Motorola finally set to launch its own Android handset, I really-really hope they'll deliver a good looking device. We had our own disappoinment with T-Mobile G1 Android handset, and high expectation for the next 'iPhone-killer' phone.

Can an army of 350 Androids (read: software developers) turn Motorola to the right way this time?. Sources are from BetaNews and TechCrunch.

[blogged with my Treo 750v]