Users of Android-based phones now have access to social-networking site GyPSii, which focuses on location-centric services.
Supporting the Google mobile OS is important because of its potential. Android is still a nascent platform, but it is poised to capture market share rapidly, according to GyPSii. Phones based on the operating system have become some of the hottest mobile devices on the market, GyPSii noted Tuesday.
Recently, LG and Motorola added Android smartphones to a list that includes phones from Samsung and HTC, which so far has been the Google OS’s biggest supporter. Last year 195,000 Android phones were sold, and this year that number will increase to 3.4 million, according to market research company Gartner.
GyPSii is already available for Apple’s iPhone, BlackBerry handsets and phones that are based on Windows Mobile and the Symbian OS or support Java. The location-centric mobile social network, for example, lets users find nearby places that friends and others have tagged.
But support for multiple phones isn’t the most important factor for success, according to Shane Lennon, senior vice president for marketing and product management at GyPSii. To get the highest usage rate in a mass market scenario the application needs to be pre-installed, Lennon said.
“You want to make it as easy as possible for the users,” said Lennon.
GyPSii is already pre-installed on a number of handsets from Samsung, LG and Garmin, and another 15 to 18 devices — including Android-based handsets — will be added to that over the next quarter or two. Lennon did not offer details.