Google's Android announcement today may be the biggest news story ever for the mobile open source community. To add some perspective, I sat down with Fabrizio Capobianco, CEO of Funambol, a company working with mobile carriers and device manufacturers to offer an open source application server for mobile messaging.

Over The Air (OTA): Hello Fabrizio, and welcome to Take Five on Over The Air. Let's dig in. Was today's announcement from Google the tipping point for mobile linux?

Fabrizio Capobianco (FC): Yes, this definitely adds to the momentum that we've seen building since 2001. Google today helped bring open source in mobile even further to the foreground. In order to reach the mobile consumer market, open source software and open standards are vital because of the billions of devices on the market. These devices represent the future computing platform and Google recognizes this and will compete using open source.

OTA: Will the Android platform and SDK increase the usage of mobile linux apps worldwide?

FC: Yes, this is one of the huge benefits of open source. Passionate developers will build tomorrow's cutting edge applications for mobile consumers and will build on Linux. Consumers are increasingly demanding access to their email, social networks and other online applications through their mobile devices. It takes a global network of developers to deliver on these demands.

OTA: Do you think Microsoft will sign on as a partner for Android?

FC: We'll have to wait and see. Microsoft never ceases to surprise.

OTA: What does the Google mobile consortium mean for Nokia? For Symbian?

FC: It's too early to tell. There are a number of efforts underway to support mobile Linux and we know Nokia and Symbian are involved in many of these activities.

OTA: Does this new consortium threaten to give more, not less, power to the carriers?

FC: Google's Android platform, the introduction of the iPhone, and the growing demand for low-cost services for consumers is prompting carriers to reconsider how they do business. Lock-in strategies are history and carriers know it. As we look at 2008, the mobile industry is on the verge of transformation.