MONTREAL - Google has come calling on smartphones with its Android operating system and it's saying more than just a friendly hello to the BlackBerry and iPhone.

As smartphones get into the hands of more and more consumers, the search engine giant's Android is starting to push its way into more of these devices.

Apple's sexy, touchscreen iPhone is looking to hold its own but Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, also used in a variety of cellphones, including those made by Samsung and LG, could be vulnerable.

And so could Research In Motion's popular BlackBerry, which has its own operating system, say industry watchers.

"Nothing will be an iPhone killer, but nothing needs to be," said PC Magazine analyst Sascha Segan, who suggests North American consumers can support more than one smartphone system.

"Much more than threatening the iPhone, Android could definitely push RIM into a makeover," said Segan, managing editor of mobile at PCMag Digital Network in New York.

Android has a much better web browser for surfing and RIM's software is "looking pretty old," although the average quality of a BlackBerry software application is higher, he said.

Open-source Android can be modified and customized by developers for different mobile phone companies. Open source systems provide their code for free to developers.

Segan said Android-powered phones all have touchscreens but some also have physical keyboards and they come in different sizes and price ranges.

"Basically, the decline of Windows Mobile is what has helped the advance of Android."

In particular, consumers are expected to like Motorola's Droid smartphone, not yet available in Canada, which would compete with BlackBerry and the Palm Pre. HTC, LG and Samsung also have phones running on the Android smartphone platform.

Smartphones have more powerful operating systems that allow them to run richer third-party applications, such as stock-trading platforms, airline boarding information and language translators. The operating system also manages the phone memory. Users can surf the web, stream video, listen to music and check email.

In Canada, four Android-powered phones currently are available - HTC's Magic, Dream and Hero, and LG's Eve. Globally, it's estimated there are about a dozen and that could be 18 by year's end. Sweden's Sony Ericsson has announced it will have an Android smartphone and Dell plans to introduce an Android phone in China.

Canadians haven't yet jumped on the Android bandwagon, suggests IDC Canada's Kevin Restivo.

"This is still very much BlackBerry and iPhone country," said Restivo, a senior analyst in mobile communications in Toronto. "It's typically not enough of a reason to buy a device, just because it's powered by Android."

But Mark Tauschek of Info-Tech Research Group in London, Ont., predicts Android-powered phones will be a threat both to the BlackBerry and the iPhone in the near future.

"I think it's actually going to nip at the heels of both of them and part of the reason is because it's going to be on so many devices," he said.

Tauschek also noted the "rough time" that Windows Mobile is having lately. If Android and the Symbian mobile operating system, now also open source, get a significant jump on Windows Mobile by next year, it likely will be too little, too late for Microsoft to stage a comeback, he said.

Segan agreed.

"Android, in 2010, especially if Microsoft doesn't get its act together with Windows Mobile, you're going to see more Android phones than you can shake a stick at."