After launching OpenSocial to compete against Facebook in the social networking industry, Google launched another alliance to provide free software to run mobile phones like open-source, Linux-based operating system, a Web browser, and a host of applications, including maps, e-mail, and video sharing and viewing applications. This alliance is known as Open Handset Alliance.

The Open Handset Alliance has some of the biggest names in the industry like Intel, Qualcomm, Motorola, T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel and eBay as its members. The Open Handset Alliance will develop a new platform known as Android and not GPhone, which was widely expected.

As the name suggested, Open Handset Alliance will allow programmers to provide a toolkit for programmers to develop mobile phone applications for Android phones. These applications will be sold to users through online stores.

This effort to set up such consortium for mobile phones is not the first time for the industry. Microsoft has done it for its Windows OS for mobile phones. Nokia setup a consortium for its Symbian operating system. There are about 22 flavors of Linux operating systems for mobile phones in the market.

Yahoo Inc in a move to strengthen its service to web advertisers has acquired BlueLithium for US$300m. BlueLithium provides technology that matches adverts to users’ interests.

This purchase is one fo the strategic moves spearheaded by Yahoo new CEO, Jerry Yang, to match its rivals Microsoft and Google. Prior to this, Yahoo has acquired online advertising exchange Right Media for US$700m.

The top three web search providers has been strengthening their advertising funtions  by a series of acquisitions. Microsoft has acquired aQuantive for US$6bn and Google has acquired DoubleClick for US$3.1bn.

Let’s see how the online advertising is going to play out in 2008 with these acquistions.

Gbox has wooed some major record labels away from Apple’s iTune. Universal and Sony BMG has signed up with GBox to start selling their music at the same prices as iTune. Each track cost only 99 cents.

Music fans can buy direct from GBox or online retailer Amazon. At the moment, this service is only available in US.

GBox service has features that users can integrate into their blog. Navio System, maker for GBox, is providing a plugin for users to place on their blog to setup their wish list songs so that their friends can purchase for them.

This service is also providing songs without DRM (Digital Rights Management) for songs from Universal Music artists.

GBox will continue to explore new means of selling songs like in social networking sites like MySpace.

Google is shutting down its premium video service after it has acquired YouTube. This has left its subscribers with any avenue to view the content they have subscribed.

Google Video was launched by Google co-founder Larry Page at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas offering video content at its site for as cheap as US$1.99 since January 2006.

Nine months ago, Google paid US$1.65b for the highly successful YouTube. YouTube is an online site for hosting video clips and sells video online. The success of YouTube has pushed Google Video service to almost irrelevance.

Google is offering its customer a Google Checkout credit of US$5 which will expire in 60 days.