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Google’s Android mobile platform will be released soon, and just in time for my mobile phone contract to expire in a few short weeks. Though my desire (and self-justifications) for an iPhone have been increasing steadily since the launch of the 3G model in July, I’ve recently become more and more excited at the prospect of Android, especially since it’s so close to launch.

It doesn’t take a mobile analyst to speculate that the stagnant, innovation-free U.S. mobile device market– despite the success of the iPhone– is still sorely in need of a shake-up in terms of software, hardware, and perhaps most pressingly, pricing structure.

Though there isn’t a definitive reason to think Google’s entry into mobile software could create such a tectonic shift, they certainly have a reasonable chance.