2009 to be year of the Android

Web giant Google’s foray into the mobile space is picking up significant steam and it looks like 2009 will be the year of the Android.

Late Tuesday, the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) announced the additional membership of 14 more companies: AKM Semiconductor, ARM, ASUSTek, Atheros Communications, Borqs, Ericsson, Garmin International, Huawei, Omron Software, Softbank Mobile, Sony Ericsson, Teleca, Toshiba and Vodafone.

Depending on their role, the new members will either develop Android-based devices, contribute code to the Android Open Source Project, or support the ecosystem through products and services that will accelerate the availability of Android gadgets.

With one Android device already available, and a second announced for January, the portfolio of Android-based handsets looks set to swell its ranks from early next year. In 2009, we can expect Android devices from HTC, Kogan, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Kyocera, Asus, Garmin, Huawei, LG, Samsung and Toshiba.

With mobile broadband adoption exploding, and big screen handsets becoming popular, Google has also tweaked its mobile advertising options to better support the newest breed of mobile phone operating systems.

A new campaign level option allows AdWords advertisers to show desktop text and image ads on the iPhone, the G1 and other mobile devices with full internet browsers.