Fourteen more companies, including China's Huawei Technologies, lent their support to the so-called "Google phone" Tuesday by joining the Open Handset Alliance.

The new members pledge to back the open-source Android mobile device platform developed by Google and are committed to "its commercial success," they said in a joint statement.

Among the new members are some big names in the mobile phone industry, such as Sony Ericsson and Vodafone.

The companies said they will either deploy compatible Android devices, contribute significant code to the Android platform, or offer products and services that will accelerate the availability of Android-based devices.

"Huawei is committed to deploy Android devices toward 2009," Li Jilin, vice president of Huawei Communications, said in the statement. "We believe the Android platform will provide an innovative edge in end user satisfaction."

Open Handset Alliance was established in 2007 by Google and 33 other firms including Motorola, T-Mobile, Samsung and China Mobile.

Telecom operator T-Mobile began selling the first Android-based Google phone, dubbed "G1", in October 2008. The G1 is seen as a rival of Apple's popular iPhone.

It is reported that a second Google phone based on the Android platform, named Agora, will be launched by Australian company Kogan at the end of January 2009.

(Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2008)