/images/gphone.jpgAs we noted this morning, Google's (GOOG) Android mobile operating system will take a bit longer to roll out than many expected: Instead of several phones coming out in time for this year's holiday shopping season, it looks like there will just be one, from T-Mobile.

As Vasanth Sridharan pointed out, this is bad news for carriers like Sprint Nextel (S), which will need to figure out a different strategy to compete with Apple's (AAPL) iPhone this winter. But it's no big deal for Google, despite concerns from the likes of TechCrunch's Erick Schonfeld, who writes:



The problem with Schonfeld's analysis: It's too short-sighted.

Even if Google totally bombs this holiday shopping season, it doesn't matter. The worldwide smartphone market could approach 275 million phones next year; 10 million iPhones is hardly a significant disruption.

And if Google's going to get a "leading position on the mobile Web," that's going to have a lot less to do with Android -- a brand-new, niche mobile operating system for smartphones -- and more to do with its mobile Web sites, ads on those sites, and other apps -- all of which can be used by anyone, with any phone on any carrier.

We don't doubt that Android's carrier-related delays are an annoyance for Google's engineering team. But a few months' delay won't break Android -- and won't come close to affecting Google's long-term ability to make a market in mobile advertising.

See Also:
Apple's Gift To Google: Hungry Android Developers?
Android Delays Annoy Google, Crush Sprint
Why Apple's iPhone Apps Platform Could Spark Huge iPhone Sales

Image: Lorin Wood via Last100