RedHerring.com ~ The Business of Technology

Google’s Android mobile operating system, not even on the market, is expected to haul in roughly $1 billion in advertising revenue for the search king by 2010, according to an analyst.

Android, the Linux-based operating system, is expected to have a global market reach of 890 million subscribers, based on carriers included in Google’s Open Handset Alliance, a business alliance of 34 telecommunications and hardware makers that support Android.

“Given such a market, Android should become a viable platform with Google a primary beneficiary,” Jeffries & Company analystYoussef Squali wrote Friday in a note to clients.

Jeffries & Company makes a market in Google securities.

T-Mobile on Tuesday officially pulled back the curtain onthe first Android-based phone. The G1, sporting Google’s brand and operating system, will go on sale in U.S. stores October 22 for $179. The Android-based G1,built by Taiwan's HTC, is expected to have Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, a 3.2-megapixel camera, a slide-out keyboard, a touch screen, and a tracking ball, among other features.

The Google phone will have access to the company’s Android Market, which lets people download applications from outside developers. That feature has proven wildly popular for Apple. The company’s App Store served up $30 million worth of applications in its first month.

Google shares were down $14.84, or 3 percent, at $424.76 in midday trading.

Android: Google’s Billion-Dollar Moneymaker