The Open Handset Alliance said Tuesday that 14 more technology firms have joined the army of businesses backing "Google phones" based on an open-source Android platform, AFP reported.
New inductees include British mobile network giant Vodafone; Japanese electronics titan Toshiba Corp., and Sony Ericsson, a joint venture involving Japan-based Sony and Sweden-based Ericsson.
"Joining the Open Handset Alliance today is a logical step in our mobile Internet journey," Vodafone Group chief marketing officer Frank Rovekamp said in a release.
"Working with emerging terminal platforms for smart phones is critical for us to deliver unbeatable customer experiences and accelerate time to market for innovative products and services."
Alliance recruits will make Android-based mobile telephones, lend programming expertise to the Android source code project, or offer products or services for the handheld devices.
"Sony Ericsson is excited to announce its membership of the Open Handset Alliance and confirm its intention to develop a handset based on the Android platform," said Rikko Sakaguchi, head of development at the firm.
"Sony Ericsson is a strong supporter of open operating systems."
The handset alliance was established in 2007 by Google and 33 other firms, among them Intel, HTC, China Mobile, Motorola, Qualcomm, T-Mobile, Telefonica, LG, and eBay.
US telecom operator T-Mobile began selling the first Android-based Google phone, dubbed "G1," in October of this year.