Verizon Wireless doesn"t yet have any solid plans to support Android, Google"s forthcoming open-source mobile software, despite reports that the operator had joined the Android club, a company spokeswoman said. "Verizon has not yet decided whether we will use Android in any of the devices we ourselves offer," said Nancy Stark, a Verizon spokeswoman, on Tuesday.
Her comments sound very different from those made by Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam in a Business Week article that appeared late on Tuesday. In the article, he"s quoted as saying that Verizon is planning to use Android. Verizon announced its new open-access policy last week. It"s designed to allow any device that meets the operator"s technical standards to use the network and run any software application. Verizon expects some developers to use Android to create devices and applications that could run on Verizon"s network as part of the new program, but the company hasn"t decided whether it will use the software itself, Stark said. Verizon also hasn"t decided yet if it will join the Open Handset Alliance, the group supporting Android, Stark said.