Google Inc. is learning that changing the cellphone industry isn't easy.

The Internet giant and more than 30 partners announced in November a bold plan for a new breed of handsets based on a suite of mobile software called Android. At the time, Google said it planned to have the new phones on the market by the second half of this year.

Google now says that the handsets won't arrive until the fourth quarter. And some cellular carriers and makers of programs that work with Android are struggling to meet that schedule, people familiar with the situation say.

T-Mobile USA expects to deliver an Android-powered phone in the fourth period. But that launch is taking up so much of Google's attention and resources that Sprint Nextel Corp., which had hoped to launch an Android phone this year, won't be able to, a person familiar with the matter said.

China Mobile, the largest wireless carrier in the world with nearly 400 million subscriber accounts, had planned to launch an Android phone in the third quarter but it has run into issues that will likely delay the launch until late this year or early 2009, a person familiar with the matter says.

Meanwhile, the Android software has yet to win broad support from large mobile-software developers. Some say it is difficult to develop programs while Google is making changes as it finishes its own software.

This month Apple Inc. created a stir when it unveiled a cheaper, faster version of the iPhone that supports slick games and entertainment services. While Apple controls most aspects of hardware and software development for the iPhone, Google has to rally many different hardware, service and software providers to support its technology platform.

There is no evidence that Android won't be able to gain momentum over time. But wireless carriers throughout the industry are confronting challenges as they seek to customize the Android software -- which includes an operating system and programs that work with it -- to promote their own Internet services. Some handset makers are taking longer than they thought to integrate Android, test it and build custom user interfaces to meet carrierspecifications.

Those challenges are affecting large cellphone makers like Samsung Electronics Co. and smaller ones that are aiming to provide devices that will be branded by carriers, people familiar with the situation say. Samsung didn't respond to requests for comment.

Andy Rubin, director of mobile platforms at Google, says managing the software-development effort while giving its partners the opportunity to lobby for new features takes time. 'This is where the pain happens,' he says. 'We are very, very close.'

One hold-up at Sprint is that the carrier would like to develop its own branded services based on Android, rather than just carry a phone with the built-in features Google plans to offer, the person familiar with the situation says. A management shake-up at Sprint, which brought in a new chief executive this year and, more recently, a new executive overseeing product development, may have also contributed to the delay. Sprint is now considering scrapping plans for an Android phone for its current third-generation broadband network and developing one that will work on the faster '4G' network it is helping to fund along with several partners, including Google, the person adds.

China Mobile and a cellphone maker it is working with have had trouble translating the Android software from Roman characters into Chinese and have had difficulty merging China Mobile's own branded data services into it, the person familiar with the matter says. A spokeswoman for China Mobile declined to comment.

AT&T Inc., the U.S. carrier for the iPhone, is still working with Google to determine if it is feasible to launch an Android phone.

Google's Mr. Rubin declines to discuss specific partners. But he says Google is working hard to help them develop new features and drive down costs, collaborating with chip makers and other technology providers so handset makers and carriers don't have to design Android-based phones from scratch.

Google has provided prototypes for carriers and handset manufacturers, though their final versions are likely to vary greatly. One prototype has a long touch-screen, similar to the Apple iPhone, a swivel-out full keyboard, and a trackball for navigation similar to the kind on some BlackBerrys.

For Google, the struggle likely will be worth it if the company can build a big foothold in the mobile market. The Mountain View, Calif., company dominates search on the personal computer, but it also wants to play a central role as Internet activity and eventually advertising dollars move to cellphones.

Until recently, wireless carriers have often called the shots on what consumers see on cellphones, taking a cut of revenues from providers of add-on services and software. Google is trying to make the process more open and less expensive. It is making Android available to handset makers for free -- hoping the investment will eventually pay off in advertising revenue -- and on an open-source basis that makes it easier to add custom programming.

Meanwhile, rivals have a head start. Apple, for example, expects to sell 10 million of its iPhones this year. Research in Motion Ltd., which has roughly 14 million BlackBerry subscriber accounts, recently announced a new BlackBerry device that makes it easier for consumers to download music, watch videos and browse the Web. Microsoft Corp. also has a sizable position in high-end cellphones.

Google executives say the company eventually hopes to power many cellphones at various price-points. But the company is likely to start by zeroing in on higher-end phones that have hardware features to handle advanced services.

The effort hinges on convincing partners to exploit the operating system, which supports capabilities such as the ability to build applications that know a phone's location. Some software developers already have built flashy demos, ranging from security software that scans a person's iris to an address book integrated with instant-messaging and other tools. Google says it has received roughly 1,800 submissions to a contest for developing Android-based application programs.

But some developers say it is easier to work with Apple's programming tools than Google's because of the familiarity with the company's Macintosh operating system. As a result, a wide range of software companies have been scrambling to build new iPhone applications.

Apple and RIM 'have superseded the excitement and hype' around Android, says Nihal Mehta, co-founder of Buzzd Inc., a location-based city guide and social network. Mr. Mehta says the company prioritized its iPhone application over an Android version because Apple's guidelines are easier to follow and there aren't any Android phones in the market to use in testing software.

Others developers cite hassles of creating programs while Android is still being completed. One is Louis Gump, vice president of mobile for Weather Channel Interactive, which has built an Android-based mobile weather application. Overall, he says, he has been impressed by the Google software, which has enabled his company to build features such as the ability to look up the weather in a particular neighborhood.

But he says Weather Channel has had to 'rewrite a few things' so far, and Google's most recent revision of Android 'is going to require some significant work,' he says.

Others -- such as Greystripe Inc., whose technology inserts ads into mobile games -- are staying away until Google clarifies key points, such as how applications will be distributed and how developers will earn revenue from them.

谷歌(Google Inc.)正逐渐发现，日新月异的手机行业并不那么容易立足。

去年11月，互联网巨头谷歌联合30多家合作伙伴宣布了一个雄心勃勃的项目，计划基于手机软件平台Android推出新的手机系列。谷歌同时还表示，打算今年下半年实现新手机上市销售。

但谷歌目前表示，第四季度前新手机难以上市。据知情人士透露，一些手机运营商和Android兼容软件的开发商目前无法赶上进度。

T-Mobile USA预计，将于第四季度推出一款基于Android平台的手机。但据一位知情人士称，该款手机目前占据了谷歌过多的关注与开发资源，以致于原本打算今年推出Android手机的Sprint Nextel Corp.无法如愿了。

谷歌基于Android平台开发的手机用寻路应用软件截图一位消息人士称，中国移动(China Mobile)原打算第三季度推出一款Android手机，但该公司目前忙于自身事务，因此新手机面市时间可能推迟到今年年底或是明年年初。中国移动是全球最大的无线运营商，拥有近4亿用户。

与此同时，Android软件也尚未赢得大型手机软件开发商的普遍支持。一些人士认为，谷歌完成自身软件后又不断作出修正，给第三方开发兼容软件带来了困难。

本月苹果公司(Apple Inc.)推出了更便宜、运行速度更快的新版iPhone手机，再次引起了市场轰动。新手机支持游戏与娱乐服务。与苹果包办iPhone手机的大部分硬件与软件开发工作不同，谷歌的Android平台若想成功，需获得诸多硬件、服务与软件提供商的支持才行。

当然，Android的人气可能会逐渐壮大。但与谷歌合作的无线运营商们却进展不顺，它们希望量身打造出专门适合其自身互联网服务的Android软件（包括操作系统以及兼容软件）。一些手机制造商正在将各种Android软件整合在一起，对Android软件进行测试，创建用户界面以满足运营商的具体要求；这些工作耗费的时间超出了此前预期。

据消息人士称，受到影响的不仅包括三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)等大型手机制造商，也涉及了规模较小的制造商，这些公司计划提供挂运营商品牌的手机。三星电子没有回复置评要求。

谷歌无线平台部门的主管安迪•鲁宾(Andy Rubin)表示，统筹软件开发工作，让合作伙伴完成宣传其手机新功能的工作，这都需要时间。他说，这正是困难所在，我们距成功已非常非常接近了。

知情人士称，Sprint无法按时推出Android手机的一个原因是，该运营商希望基于Android平台开发自有品牌服务，而不是向客户提供功能已由谷歌设计好了的手机。而Sprint管理层今年更换了新的首席执行长，不久前还更换了负责产品开发的管理人员，这也是它迟迟无法推出Android手机的原因之一。这位知情人士透露，Sprint现在正在考虑放弃将Android手机用于目前第三代宽频网络的计划，转而开发一款能够在更高速的第四代网络上使用的Android手机。该公司正在与包括谷歌在内的几家公司合作研发第四代无线网络。

知情人士透露，中国移动和与其合作的一家手机制造商在将Android软件进行汉化时遇到了麻烦，而且难以将中国移动自有品牌的数据服务整合进Android手机。中国移动的发言人对此不予置评。

iPhone手机的美国运营商美国电话电报公司(AT&T Inc.)仍在考虑推出Android手机的可行性。

谷歌的鲁宾拒绝谈论具体的合伙伙伴。但他表示，谷歌正在努力帮助它们开发新的手机功能、降低开发成本，谷歌还在同芯片制造商和其它技术提供商协作，努力使手机生产商和运营商不必从零开始设计基于Android平台的手机。

谷歌已经向运营商和手机制造商提供了样机，不过后者最终推出的版本可能会千差万别。一款样机带有象iPhone那样的大触摸屏，转出式全键盘和同一些黑莓(BlackBerry)手机类似的导航球。

对谷歌而言，如果它最终能够在手机市场大有斩获，那么眼下遇到一些困难也是值得的。谷歌在个人电脑搜索领域占据主导地位，但随着互联网活动乃至广告支出向手机的转移，它也希望在这个领域能发挥核心作用。

直到不久前，手机用户能享受哪些无线增值服务还是手机运营商说了算，手机增值服务和附加软件提供商不得不与运营商分享收入。谷歌正在努力改变这一局面，让手机用户能以更小的花费获得更多消费选择。该公司允许手机厂家免费使用Android平台，希望这方面的损失最终能通过广告收入补回来，它还开放了Android的源代码，以方便人们基于这一平台开发各种定制软件。

与此同时，竞争对手则继续保持着领先优势。比如，苹果预计今年将销售1,000万部iPhone手机。Research in Motion Ltd.的黑莓手机目前约有1,400万用户，该公司日前宣布将推出新款黑莓，让用户能够更轻松地下载音乐、观看视频和浏览网页。微软(Microsoft Corp.)也在高端手机市场占有很大份额。

谷歌的管理人士表示，希望能有各种不同价位的Android手机面市，但它可能会从硬件能够满足高级服务的中、高端手机入手。

这一努力成功与否取决于能否确保合作伙伴能基于Android平台开发出各种应用软件，比如能锁定手机位置的软件。一些程序员已经开发出了各种让人眼花缭乱的演示软件，如能够扫描个人虹膜的安全软件和能够整合即时讯息和其它工具的地址簿，等等。谷歌表示，在公司举办的Android应用软件开发大赛中，已经收到了大约1,800建参赛作品。

但一些开发人员表示，苹果的编程工具比谷歌的更容易使用，原因是人们对苹果的Macintosh操作系统更为熟悉。因此，各种各样的软件公司都在忙着为iPhone开发各种新的应用程序。

Buzzd Inc.的创建者之一梅塔(Nihal Mehta)说，苹果和RIM已经压倒了Android带来的激动和喧嚣。Buzzd是一家城市定位指南和社交网络公司。梅塔说，该公司会优先为iPhone而不是Android开发应用程序，因为苹果的指导方针更容易执行，而且市面上也没有一部Android手机可用来测试开发出的程序。

其他开发人员则表示，由于Android平台仍未定型，因此开发应用程序困难重重。Weather Channel Interactive的副总裁路易斯•甘(Louis Gump)就是其中之一。这家公司开发了基于Android的移动天气应用程序。他说，总体而言，他对Android印象深刻，这款系统软件能够让他的公司开发出本地天气状况查找等功能。

但他说，由于谷歌仍在不断修改Android操作系统，Weather Channel也不得不经常修改自己开发的兼容软件。

而在谷歌澄清一些关键事项，如应用程序如何分销和程序开发商如何从中获得收入之前，Greystripe Inc.等一些公司仍会裹足不前。该公司主要从事向移动游戏中插入广告的业务。
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