How Nokia's Symbian Move Helps Google

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"Google shouldn't really care all that much what the operating system on a phone is," he says. Adds Burden: "The key to Google making a lot of money is we all use phones with operating systems on them."

Once more phones feature full Web browsers, it's reasonable to assume that more people will flock to Google's mobile sites. "Data I've seen suggests if a company is dominant on the desktop, it's going to be dominant on mobile," says Matt Booth, senior vice-president at Kelsey Group. On their mobile phones, people still go to sites powered by Google, Yahoo! (YHOO), and Microsoft (MSFT), which garner the most traffic in the PC world as well.

Google benefits if its applications come preinstalled on a phone. Being the default search engine on Apple's iPhone has helped Google dominate the nascent U.S. mobile search market, with 61% share, according to Nielsen Mobile. But many users will rely on Google even if it's not the default on a given phone, analysts and investors say. "Google could strike deals with carriers," explains Chris Sacca, a venture capitalist who until recently directed many of Google's wireless efforts. "But Google wants users to get applications on their devices on their own. Google's end goal isn't necessarily to push Google's applications onto people, but to create an open environment where people can choose these applications."

Sticking with Android

And it's not like Google is going to turn its back on Android either. "A lot of the Apple developers are looking at Android [and not Symbian] as their Plan B," says Rick Doherty, director at consultancy Envisioneering Group. T-Mobile USA is expected to introduce its first Android device in late 2008 and Sprint Nextel (S) will likely follow suit in 2009. Besides, it will take several years for Symbian to go fully free and open.

Still, some analysts aren't convinced Google will stick with Android over the long haul. "I don't see any reason for Google to continue down the Android path long term [now that Nokia has made its move]," Gold says. "Google's commitment to Android hasn't changed," Google said in a statement. "And we're very excited to see the momentum continuing to build behind the Android platform among carriers, handset manufacturers, developers, and consumers."

Before long, Google may find itself equally excited by the momentum building around Symbian.

Kharif is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com in Portland, Ore.