Moto: No Android Here

5:10 PM -- Hey, take a chill pill, everyone! That Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) "au BOX" KDDI Corp. is deploying in Japan may be cool and all, but it's not using Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)'s Android operating system.

Following a spate of reports claiming that Motorola was developing a version of the box with Android on-board, Motorola went out of its way Friday afternoon to clarify that the set-top uses Moto's own Linux-based KreaTV platform. Moreover, Moto said it has "no plans to produce an Android-based version" of the au BOX. (See Moto: KDDI Box Not an Android and Motorola Acquires Kreatel.)

But it's easy to see why some folks were making that connection, since a feature of the Moto box does indeed enable customers to transfer content between their mobile devices and the home entertainment system. And Moto has some significant mobile activities centering on Android. (See Moto Ditches Symbian for Android & Windows and Moto Hangs Hopes on Android.)

Then again, Moto did leave itself some wiggle room. Not having plans to incorporate Android into the au BOX now doesn't necessarily mean it won't sometime later.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News