[April 2 (Bloomberg) -- AT&T Inc., the biggest U.S. wireless carrier, is now ``very interested'' in using mobile-phone software developed by Google Inc. and its partners, overcoming its initial skepticism about the project.
The software, known as Android, is more flexible than AT&T had expected, Ralph de la Vega, chief executive officer of the carrier's wireless unit, said yesterday in an interview in Las Vegas. It will allow the company to alter phones to run features other than those Google is offering.
By adopting Android, AT&T could offer phones that download Web pages more quickly than current models and let subscribers customize their handsets. Google, owner of the most popular Internet search engine, wants consumers to use the Internet more on their mobile phones, helping to boost the ad revenue it collects from Web queries.
``I'm pretty impressed with what I have seen,'' de la Vega said. ``I like the progress they're making.'']
