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Google’s Android mobile operating system has become increasingly popular over the last 12 months, with an increasing market share and a growing adoption (and availability) of the Android App Store. Android has been gaining ground on the iPhone for months now, even seeing a higher market share than their old rivals in certain areas of the world.

Add this to Google’s dominance in the search industry and their movement into numerous other areas (shopping, maps, internet browsers, applications, document sharing – the list goes on and on) and you’ve got a company that’s a major competitor to some of the biggest companies in the world (including Apple, Microsoft and numerous others).

However, could the growing popularity and subsequent adoption of the Android mobile OS pose a genuine risk in terms of personal data management and overall security?

Many people are predicting that Android will become the biggest and most widely used mobile platform in the world within 12 months, offering a real incentive for developers of malicious software and criminals to try and attack the network. Whilst this could in theory be levelled at Apple and any other popular service or software, what makes the Android platform a higher risk (in terms of IT security) is the open source nature of the platform. This means that developers worldwide have access to the Android source code, making it easier to develop malware for the plaftorm (with nothing to stop them distributing it on the Android App Store).

Whether or not Google will take steps to reduce this issue remains to be seen, but it’s worth noting that there has already been a 400% increase in malware on the Android mobile operating platform since the same period in 2010.

Post by Phil, who works for a distribution and logistics company in the South West.

Questions have been flying around for a long time regarding the idea of a Google Phone, but it seems, the questions are being answered, Google are going to release a phone, built by LG but featuring 3 main Google tools, maps, email and search.

The phone is reportedly going to have a camera, WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth and an MP3 player, the price is hazy but its rumoured to be around £200.

The design of the phone itself is similar to the popular LG Chocolate, it features a 2 inch widescreen display, making it better to view the Google features.

Google Phone

I don’t currently know the release date of the Google Phone but hopefully we’ll be hearing more of it in the near future.