T-Mobile To Introduce 'G1' Google Android Phone Sept. 23

[SteveW]

T-Mobile To Introduce 'G1' Google Android Phone Sept. 23

The handset made by HTC promises to reinvigorate the smart phone market and to provide a mobile application platform to rival Apple's iPhone.

By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek
September 16, 2008 06:00 PM

T-Mobile has made it official: It plans to introduce the first mobile phone running Google (NSDQ: GOOG)'s Android software at a September 23rd press conference in New York.

T-Mobile's phone, an HTC Dream (aka G1), is expected to be available to consumers at the end of October. Its arrival after months of anticipation among technophiles promises to reinvigorate the smart phone market and to provide a mobile application platform to rival Apple's iPhone.

Last November, Google announced the formation of the Open Handset Alliance, a group of more than 30 hardware, software, and telecom companies, to promote open standards for mobile devices. The group includes Google, HTC, Intel, Motorola, and T-Mobile, to name a few.

In August, after several rough spots, Android's prospects brightened considerably, thanks to the FCC's approval of the HTC Dream, Google's delivery of the Android 0.9 SDK beta, and T-Mobile's confirmation of its plan to ship an HTC Android-powered phone.

Also in August, Google announced the Android Market, "an open content distribution system that will help end users find, purchase, download and install various types of content on their Android-powered devices."

"Developers can expect the first handsets to be enabled with a beta version of Android Market," said Eric Chu, Google's Mobile Platform program manager, in a blog post last month. He also promised further updates.

The availability of T-Mobile's Android phone and a functioning application store may prompt Apple to re-evaluate its controversial exclusion of certain iPhone apps from its iTunes App Store, behavior that Apple's detractors have characterized as anti-competitive and capricious.

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SW

[Charlyee]

Android’s Coming Out Party
By Brad Smith
WirelessWeek - September 18, 2008


It isn’t exactly big news since word had leaked out more than a week earlier, but T-Mobile USA has called a news conference in New York City for Tuesday, Sept. 23, to formally announce the first Android phone.

Google, the force behind Android and the Open Handset Alliance, has been showing the phone at public events. Most recently it was at the Google Developer Day in London on Monday. The FCC certified the phone in mid-August and speculation has been flying since then about the launch plans.

The first Android phone, called the Dream in FCC filings, is made by HTC. The phone also apparently will go on sale Oct. 20, although T-Mobile USA hasn’t confirmed that date. The phone has a touchscreen which apparently is larger than Apple’s iPhone, plus GPS, Wi-Fi and will use T-Mobile USA’s new 3G network.

Joel Espelien, strategy vice president for OHA member PacketVideo, told Forbes the Dream will process fun applications faster than any phone on the market because the operating system was built as a multitasking workhorse from the start. Other phone operating systems use older technology that slows them down, he said.

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[SmArTeStChIlD421]

this is great stuff i cant wait to see this release on Tuesday. Out of curiosity......will the firmware be debugged and stuff like that as the phone is used?? like people use it and submit bug reports....and then Android stuff can use that info to make new versions of the firmware??