Motorola Going Android, Nokia Rumored to Follow Suit

Following last week’s unveiling of the first Android-based mobile phone from HTC, the G1, reports are now emerging about Motorola adopting the mobile operating system and other rumors suggest Nokia may not be too far behind.

According to a report on TechCrunch, an Android developer, who claims to have been approached by a headhunter from Motorola, said the headcount for the company’s Android team has reached 50 people and is expected to continue growing until it hits 350. The announcement doesn’t come as too much of a surprise when you consider the fact that Motorola is a key member of the Open Handset Alliance, the main supported of Android.

However, what is interesting is the rumors that the Finnish manufacturer, Nokia, has also been seen loitering at an Android developer conference. The same source told TechCrunch that both Nokia and Verizon had been at the conference despite neither being members of the OHA. Nokia bought the rest of the Symbian shares from it’s partners (Sony Ericsson, Ericsson, Panasonic and Samsung) in June so we reckon it’s pretty unlikely the company would put a Motorola-esque amount of manpower into it in the immediate future, however if things don’t work out with Symbian in the long run, we’re willing to bet Nokia will pour everything into Android.

Last week we heard that the G1 would hit stores on October 22. Hoping to rival the iPhone, all eyes will be on Android next month to see how early adopters react to the handset. While the addition of Motorola would no doubt give both Android and the manufacturer a boost, Nokia is one partner Google would not want to lose out on, especially if it were to bring it’s own iPhone rival, the Tube, with it.

(Read the full story on TechCrunch)