iLounge

Google has announced Android, its new open-source mobile phone “software stack,” rumored for months as the “Gphone.” The new software will be offered to manufacturers for free as part of a new Open Handset Alliance, and phones from HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung, and others running the software are expected in the second half of next year.

In a recent Telegraph article examining iPhone negotiations in the UK, O2 CEO Matthew Key has said that the company has ordered hundreds of thousands of the handsets, adding that he expects the iPhone to be the network’s best holiday seller “by a mile.”

Last Saturday’s episode of “Saturday Night Live” featured a parody of Apple’s latest iPhone advertisements, which feature iPhone owners telling how they use the devices in front of a plain black backdrop. Of particular note is the fact that the iPhone featured in the sketch appears to have been hacked.

European mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse has said that it expects to sell 10,000 iPhones on launch day in the UK. “We will hope to represent a big share of what’s sold,” said Darren Gardener, head of wireless at Carphone Warehouse U.K. The iPhone will be available from Carphone Warehouse, as well as O2 and Apple retail outlets, beginning this Friday at 6:00 pm local time.

A recent BusinessWeek article asks whether the iPhone’s success will lead to higher prices in the smartphone market. David Carey, head of Portelligent, said, “The component content that is most in demand is flash chips. If everyone starts chasing the iPhone, then the costs will go up, but that will be driven more by flash.”