Motorola’s Android Plans: A Giant Leap for Mobile Web?

The buzz surrounding the Oct. 22 release of the first Google/Android-powered mobile phone continues to build, and the latest from BetaNews suggests Motorola has plans to release an Android phone equipped with ”social network friendly” features in early 2009.

For now, the lips of social networking behemoths Facebook and MySpace are sealed, as are Motorola’s, according to BusinessWeek’s Olga Kharif:

Motorola declined to elaborate on its plans, but said in a statement: “We’re excited about the innovation possibilities on Android and look forward to delivering great products in partnership with Google (GOOG)” and the community of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance that are working on the Android operating system.

Though I was admittedly late to the game, I’ve joined the masses in setting up profiles on both Facebook and MySpace over the course of the past several months. However, when it comes to the “mobile web,” which has been identified by many as the next big thing, I’m afraid I’ll be even later to adopt it — if I adopt it at all.

This is the part where I disclose that I do not own a “smart” phone and, quite frankly, I have no desire to own one. A regular ol’ cell phone and a wireless internet connection do the job just fine for me, thanks. Besides, I can’t get used to the idea of surfing around the web or reading e-mail on such a tiny screen. I’m also one of those who has vowed to never, ever watch a movie on an iPod. Call it the “squint factor.”

Still, as someone who works on a college campus, I have to admit that mobile web is here to stay. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t run into a student who is hacking away at a matchbook-sized QWERTY keyboard or sporting a Jetsons-esque new iPhone. As a gadget guy, I’m on board with the cool factor. I won’t argue that “smart” phones aren’t super-sweet, futuristic devices that make me drool just a little.

Technology has changed so rapidly, even within the past three to five years, that a tremendous gap exists not only between generations but between those who were born a mere decade apart. I’m only 10 years or so older than many of the students I encounter but, given my disdain for miniscule screens, I might as well be a dinosaur.

My inner desire to remain hip may eventually force my hand, and I may give in to the crackberry or some other device. Motorola’s plans, it would appear, could seal the deal for the future of mobile web while simultaneously forcing me to squint and bear it.