Could Android OS run off [jailbroken] iPhone?

[vexingv]

The new pricing on the 3G iphone is very enticing. but i'm still a hopeless Android fan. Unfortunately, no hardware or pricing has been announced.

I'm not sure if anyone on AT dabbles in Android programming and this is purely speculation, but what are the chances that a hacked/jailbroken iPhone could run the Android OS?

I think it'd be great if Android could tap into Apple's install base of iPhone hardware and users and offer them their choice of a platform to use. I'm not too fond of the way Apple is forcing apps to go through the App store and such. Also, the costs involved and SDK introduce barriers for smaller, independent, OSS, programmers/developers.

from a NYT article i just read, Apple's goal is to sell 10 miilion iphones in 2008. 5.5 million iphones have already been shipped and now the new 3G iphone is starting at $199 for the 8gb model. with such a low price, i have no doubt they can reach that goal.

An Android port/fork on iPhone hardware could give 10 million users the choice of an alternate platform (of course they'd have to mod/jailbreak their iphone to begin with) and provide a large base for Android immediately.

 

[Jakeisbest]

I would assume it would be difficult to program Android to run on Apples touch keyboard, however, I could be wrong.

Also even though millions of iPhones have been sold they represent like 20% of the US market and like 5% of the global market. Android has a bigger target market in RiM and Palm users than they do iPhone users.
I would also assume many people purchased the iPhone specifically because they like its OS.

 

[vexingv]

If you haven't gotten the opportunity to to see latest demonstration of Android at Google's recent IO conference, there's a nice series of videos here

Android's GUI is very much like iphone's though you could probably program it to whatever you wanted. The reason why I single out iPhone is that it has been receiving much hype over the past year and recently got the number 3 spot in the smartphone market (behind RIM and Nokia). Also, iPhone is among the few smartphones out there specifically marketed for consumers, which haven't really delved into this market yet. RIM's Blackberry, Palm's Treos, and other WinMo handhelds have traditionally been products used by professionals and they have been using them for years. I think Android could take on Palm and WinMo easily if someone can cobble together Palm (already being done on iphone) and WinMo emulation/virtualization. However, iPhone is directly trying to target RIM, WinMo, and Palm users themselves. And many are planning to switch to iPhone as it does internet so well.

I really ask this question b/c iPhone has good hardware and currently there are no Android handsets available. In the end, it's a personal question I'm asking: if I were to choose an iPhone today, would it be possible to install Android in the future if that platform does prove to be better?

btw, some people are already playing with Android on the HTC Kaiser