Prototypes of the first mobile handsets using Google's Android software debuted at the GSMA's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday.

Google launched Android, an open development platform in November. Phones sporting the Android software are expected out later this year. Google also announced the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 34 handset manufacturers, carriers and chipmakers that have said they plan to support Android products and services.

A number of journalists were invited to a private demonstration of Android at the ARM Holdings booth at the show. ZDNet.com.au's sister site CNET News.com reported last week that ARM was planning to show off a prototype.

ARM's technology is found at the heart of almost every mobile phone on the planet. The company designs the processor cores that companies like Texas Instruments, Samsung, and Marvell manufacture into chips that run mobile phones and smartphones.

A sneek peek of Android at the ARM booth here at MWC. (Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET News.com)

ARM has the Android software running on a prototype device using the ARM9 processor technology, which is already two generations old. The mocked-up handset resembled a full QWERTY keyboard smartphone, like Research in Motion's BlackBerry. But Bob Morris, director of platform solutions for ARM, said the ARM9 technology used on the demonstration prototype is actually used on lower-end handsets sold to the mass market, which means the functionality being demonstrated could be done on most phones sold today.

James Bruce, North American mobile manager for marketing at ARM, said that it's not so much what Android allows mobile phone users to do, but rather what it doesn't require handset chip and device makers to do.

"Android provides a complete application framework, which can be put on chipsets with a lot less work," he said.

According to Bruce, Android should simplify the process of getting a new phone and new applications to market. Today, the mobile phone market is extremely fragmented. Every manufacturer has its own operating system for phones, and very often even different models of handsets are developed using proprietary software. This makes it difficult for handset components makers, application developers, and the handset makers themselves to develop new products and services quickly because they have to design functionality for each software iteration. Even the most basic functions like SMS could require different programming from one brand of handset to another.

Android is supposed to alleviate this problem, because it provides a common operating system and development platform that has all the basic functionality baked in. But the software, which is based on a version of Linux, is also open enough to allow application developers to design new applications and services for the device.

Android will take its place next to Microsoft's Windows Mobile, a platform which offers similar functionality, along with Symbian, which is used by Nokia and Sony Ericsson. Together these companies account for nearly half the entire mobile phone market. There are also several Linux groups currently developing mobile platforms.

One such platform developed by the Limo Group, claims to be gaining traction among the Linux community and says it will soon become the unifying Mobile Linux platform.

Despite there being some concern of an oversupply of mobile operating systems, Bruce said that ultimately the market will decide how many operating systems it can bare. And he believes the mobile pie is big enough to support several competitors.

"The mobile phone market is huge," he said. "Over a billion phones are shipped worldwide every year. So even if a company can capture five or 10 percent, they can still do well."