Verizon embraces Google's Android platform?

Following last week’s announcement that it would open up its network to compatible phones and applications, Verizon on Tuesday surprised the industry once again by confirming the company will embrace Google's Android mobile platform.

In a BusinessWeek interview, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said that it makes sense to get behind Android and that the announcement culminates a year’s worth of evolution in the company’s strategy. Sounds a little contradictory considering how in recent months the company has fought hard to keep its network completely closed to third-party devices and applications.

Despite McAdam’s comments, a Verizon spokeswoman issued a statement later that day saying that the company has not yet decided whether to use Android on its own phones and that McAdams was merely saying that third-party developers would have the option of using Android on devices they might build for the network. While the inconsistencies in the company’s comments point to the hype and uncertainty around Android, Verizon’s sudden policy U-turns in the past weeks are certainly indicative of a shift in the wireless market.