Google Android - The Android Log

Google (NasdaqGS:GOOG - News) is putting its might behind its Linux-based Android cellular platform, and some 30 big companies are backing the search king.

The move to Linux is a potential game changer because it could loosen the control that cellular carriers have over the applications they support. Also, it would give handset makers and third-party application developers greater control over market direction and trends. And Nokia`s (NYSE:NOK - News) Symbian and Microsoft (NasdaqGS:MSFT - News) could lose licensing revenue.

But there`s a long way to go for any of that to happen.

Google’s Android was demonstrated recently at the Google I/O conference. Initial demonstrations of the updated — though still in progress — mobile operating system included footage of unlocking the device, the application launcher and the Home Screen.

The Google I/O conference was this week, and the team working on Android took the opportunity to show off this upcoming mobile operating system.

It’s clear that a great deal of work has been done on the user interface in the last few months, as it looks significantly more polished than it did during the first demonstrations of Android last fall.