If Google makes a software product for mobile phones, trust it to be extremely internet-friendly. In fact, it is from the intangible assets on the internet that the search giant has been able to create tangible value for its founders and shareholders.

Therefore, it came as no surprise that the first mobile phone running on Google's Android operating system came across as being easy to use on the internet besides being host to a lot of innovative features.

Moreover, software developers wholeheartedly agreed that the Android mobile platform is easy to write applications for, a trend Google has encouraged by making the software open-source like Linux. Apple has also announced a similar initiative for its iconic iPhone.

In fact, the demonstration drew considerable comparison with the iPhone.

Demonstrating the device at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco, Andy Rubin, who heads up the project at the company, declined to give a specific release date for a Google-powered phone except that they will appear in the second half of the year.

Google will not make the phone, but has helped develop the software that handset manufacturers will install in their devices. Samsung, HTC, LG Electronics, and Motorola are among the companies that have said they will produce phones that run on Android.

One innovative feature demonstrated at the conference was an ingenious security tool where a user can unlock the device by drawing a secret figure of his choice on the touchscreen.

It also comes with a compass, which when built into a handset along with an accelerometer, would be able to orient maps according to which way the user was facing. As demonstrated with Google Maps Street View, it could show the exact view that a user was looking at, with street-name and address information built in to the map.

There is also a customizable homepage that lets people bookmark their favourite web pages as well a magnifying tool, to make zooming in on web content easier on a small screen, and a mobile version of the game Pac Man.

Google and its partners in the Open Handset Alliance are pushing Android as more open than other mobile platforms, including the iPhone. Developers won't need to get Android applications certified by anyone, Google developer advocate Jason Chen told the Android breakout session. In addition, there won't be any hidden APIs (application programming interfaces) accessible only to handset makers or mobile operators, he said.

Developers will also be able to modify core elements of the interface and come out with replacements for the basic building blocks that come with Android, such as the address book, Chen said. Even the look of the home-screen widgets will be customizable. For users, that will mean being able to control their own experience by downloading their favorite third-party versions, Chen said.

Google expects the first Android-based devices to hit the market in the second half of this year and will make the finished software platform available to developers after that, so anyone can create their own phone platform, Chen said. The core elements of it will be released under the Apache open-source license.