There's no Gphone just yet, but Google does want a big piece of your cell phone. In November 2007, the company announced its Android mobile operating system, and 34 companies are on board to develop applications for the cell-phone platform as part of the Open Handset Alliance. The open software platform is hoped to go head-to-head with smartphone software from RIM, Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, and Palm. Will Google be your next mobile OS?

What's that all mean? The big motivation for Google is that it will likely have its applications such as Gmail and Google Docs & Spreadsheets automatically built into a major share of new cell phones in the burgeoning market.

What's interesting and exciting is that the platform--likely based on Linux--will be open to all third-party developers. With any luck, that means that consumers will finally be able to choose exactly which software apps they want to use on their cell phones.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt claims that "as a result of this platform you'll be able to do amazing things with your mobile devices that you've never thought of." We'll get a first peek at the possibilities for programmers with an early look at a software development kit for Google Android next week.