ARM CEO downplays Android's potential impact

Here's an article over at Yahoo News in which ARM's CEO, Warren East, gives his opinion on the impact Android will have. From the article:

...building up a new mobile phone software platform can take years, especially in an industry where incumbents such as market leader Symbian have a lengthy head start.

"You're not going to see hundreds of millions of Google phones anytime soon," he said.

Perhaps the part Mr. Ellis is missing here is the immediate buy-in from the big handset manufacturers with membership in the OHA; if there are a number of Android-running phones suddenly hitting the market the uptake could be huge. Remember that the average buyer doesn't care what OS the phone is running, they just want to make calls and text their friends. If the subsidized Motorola, LG, or Samsung phone they're buying is running Android, then Android will get out there.