Google today announced the creation of the Open Handset Alliance, an organization currently made up of 34 companies, and the Android open platform for mobile devices.

"This partnership will help unleash the potential of mobile technology for billions of users around the world. A fresh approach to fostering innovation in the mobile industry will help shape a new computing environment that will change the way people access and share information in the future," says Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "Today's announcement is more ambitious than any single 'Google Phone' that the press has been speculating about over the past few weeks. Our vision is that the powerful platform we're unveiling will power thousands of different phone models."

"It is likely that by mid-2008, [we'll] be seeing carrier-branded phones optimized for all sorts of Google Apps and Googlecentric mashups," writes ZDNet's Russell Shaw. "Maybe just one example: Google Street Views tied to Google advertisement businesses located within these street views?"

More here from Machinist ... more here from CNET News ... more here from Red Herring ... more here from Computerworld ... and the press release is here.