Rivalry in the US smartphone market is apparently heating up - what with Google and Verizon Wireless recently announcing their decision to join forces to bring the Google Android mobile platform to the Verizon network!

In a joint statement, Google and Verizon have said that they intend working in partnership with handset makers to develop new Android-based smartphones. As such, the Google-Verizon alliance might likely end up creating a compelling substitute to offer notable competition to the two market-leading smartphones - the Apple iPhone and the Research-in-Motion BlackBerry.

Verizon's preference for the Android probably results from the intense pressure the carrier is facing from its rival AT&T, which has been bagging an increasing number of customers by being the exclusive US iPhone carrier.

That Verizon intends offering Android phones hardly comes as a surprise - already Motorola's second Android phone, codenamed Sholes, was designed for Verizon; and the latest version of the Android operating system offers CDMA support, thereby enabling the Android to work on Verizon's network.

Going by the analysts' projections, Verizon would likely introduce at least three Android-based phones later this month, from makers like Motorola, Samsung, and HTC. The Verizon backing of the Android would serve as an encouragement to other handset makers to develop Android-based devices.

According to Stifel Nicolaus analyst George Askew, as many as 30 Android-based devices would likely be unveiled by the year-end.