If only there were some web site where people could search for answers, some sort of engine – one that rhymes with “kugel” and is poised to shake up the mobile phone market.

Until that site arrives, we can tell you that you would’ve won that bet.  How will Google make a splash in the mobile phone world without releasing a phone?  The same way they always do:  with software.

BusinessWeek Online reported in 2005 that Google had “quietly acquired startup Android, Inc. (http://bit.ly/2d7amx)”  Android’s co-founder Andy Rubin had founded Danger, Inc., the company behind the uber-cool-in-2002 Hiptop mobile phone (now marketed as the T-Mobile Sidekick).

The Internet was abuzz back then about what this meant.  Rumor was that Google would release their own phone, but in November of 2007 that speculation was put to rest.

That was when they announced Google Android, mobile phone software based on their previous acquisition (http://bit.ly/r52BD).  They also trumpeted the formation of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA, openhandsetalliance.com), a multinational group of companies – including Motorola, Sprint-Nextel, T-Mobile, Qualcomm, and thirty others – that will support mobile applications using Android.

Google released programming tools (code.google.com/android) for anyone to download, making Android an open platform.  They also built it on popular existing technologies, making it easy for programmers to get started.

Android provides a compatibility layer across multiple devices, allowing programmers to write apps for Android and have them automatically run on multiple phones.  This is preferable to having companies create one version of the same app for each phone, and also prevents consumers from needing to re-purchase mobile apps whenever they switch phones.

Google sweetened the pot further with a two-part Android Developer Challenge.  Round One, which ended in April, encouraged programmers to submit their Android apps to Google for judging.

Fifty winners each took home a $25,000 prize, or “money we found in our couch cushions,” as Google calls it.  One winning app suggests public transit routes for planned trips, while another provides severe weather alerts.  For a full list, see http://phandroid.com/2008/05/10/adc-round-1-winners/.

Round Two, scheduled to start later in the year as Android phones become available, lets Round One winners improve their apps for a shot at more cash.  Google will open up the petty cash drawer and dole out ten $100,000 prizes and ten $275,000 rewards.

Some industry pundits have hailed Android as an “iPhone killer,” even though the iPhone is an actual phone, and Android is software.  It could be months before we know if Android leads to better phones, but the future looks promising for consumers.

Until then, you’ve given us an idea for a web site that lets people type in questions and then provides them with answers.  We can’t believe no one’s thought of this sooner, but it’s probably a good thing for us – such a site would’ve put us out of business a long time ago.