Over the past few days, we’ve gotten multiple confirmations from reliable sources that the first phone built on Google’s Android platform will launch in the next several weeks. It will be an HTC phone, likely the HTC Dream, and will be launched internationally on the T-Mobile network. A window of between Oct 15 and Nov 30 is most likely, according to these sources.
Around mid-July we received some information that T-Mobile had started its preparations for the Android launch. A few weeks later, there were signs from the Android team that development was wrapping up and that the final software development kit (SDK) for the device was nearing completion. A few days later we began hearing that not only was the first Android phone already in existence, it was in the midst of its “first series” phase. This means it is being distributed now among selected employees/managers at HTC, T-Mobile and informed third parties. Various organizational activities, including marketing and training of employees have already started as well.
In the past weeks, amidst reports indicating Android phones may be delayed and frustrations amongst Open Handset Alliance Members, we continually heard from both Google and HTC that the first Android phones would launch before the end of the year. Now we have solid first-hand information that the launch is just weeks away.
Let’s look at some of the problems which Google Android/the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) is supposed to have had in the last months:
* Developers supposedly have been staying away from Android and focusing on the systems already out there: BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Mobile and the iPhone;
* Open Handset Alliance Member Sprint was arguing that Google Android is not addressing “industry fundamentals more pragmatically”;
* Google was rumored to build its own “Gphone”;
* Most recently HTC is supposed to be “having structural problems to incorporate Google’s demanded feature set” and not being able to make it this year.
So what do we know ?
We quickly learned to distrust most of the speculation. We repeatedly asked Google to confirm launch dates. Answers included “phones based on the Android platform will be available in Q4 of this year” and “we remain on schedule to deliver the first Android-based handset this year.” We also learned that Google was keeping the latest version of the Android SDK from the majority of Android-focused developers as Zdnet reported.
Around mid-July, we had some information that T-Mobile started its preparations for the Android launch. At the beginning of August, there where signs from inside the Android team that they reached an important point in development. They released the final SDK for the Android Developer Challenge participants — suggesting the release to handset manufactures was near. Some days later we heard a confirmation from another, reliable source that T-Mobile is preparing the launch and this person was willing to share some actual information. After we learned this, we took it to others, and they were willing to talk. This is what we consider as confirmed information:
The first “Android phone” exists. It’s a HTC phone and it appears to already be in the “first series” phase as it is being distributed now among selected employees/managers at HTC, T-Mobile and 3rd parties. Various organizational activities, including marketing and training of employees, have started.
How will the phone look like and what are the phone’s characteristics? I can not confirm any of this, but I assume leaks wil start to happen now and in my experience Tmonews is quite well-informed, reliable and seems to have some insiders at various positions. This image from Tmonews (left), however, seems not to show the final version of the phone.
Also, I am certain that the circulating videos are false, as the devices are still kept in the closet. Also, I can comment on the release date. Tmonews, which I’ve linked to above, is speculating about Sept. 17th. From comments from our sources, and calculations about things like approval times, however, we assume a launch window of Oct. 15 to Nov. 30. The launch will be international, and held in stages.
Let’s break down some of our calculations:
We expect the final public Android SDK to be released in the next 4-6 weeks. We hear this time period from various sources and this view seems already to be pre-eminent on newsgroups. The developer release earier this month suggested that at the time the manufacturing of the “first series” was probably near. Information/troubleshooting from the “first series” will be included into the release. This final public release of the Android SDK will make more exact predictions possible.
From submitting the phone to the FCC until launch can take as little as four to five weeks. Take the iPhone, for example. It was submitted on June 1st, it was approved on June 9th and the relevant information was confidential until the July 11.
In the six weeks before the release, we will see a lot of leaks, news and occasional marketing. It seems that for the US, in terms of marketing, October 1st will be a significant day as that’s when T-Mobile USA wants to launch its 3G network.
We’ve already reported on the coming T-Mobile app store. There’s been much speculation on the nature of how the applications should be distributed. From the Google Android team, there are only general statements. Android’s Andy Rubin said at the Google I/O on May 28th that “I have nothing to announce today, but we thought of it. We wouldn’t have done our job if we didn’t provide something that helps developers to get distribution.” From what we hear, Google is apparently putting the applications stores into mobile operator hands. Can we expect other mobile operators from the Open Handset Alliance to switch to app store models?
9:25 am
Sources: HTC’s Google Android phone is “weeks away” from launching : blog lowerautoinsurance said:
[...] Original post by Matthaus Krzykowski [...]
3:36 pm
El primer móvil con Android, muy pronto : Planeta Android said:
[...] indica Venture Beat, el primer móvil basado en Android podría salir al mercado dentro de muy [...]
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Is There a Mobile Divide? said:
[...] portion of us debate (as pictured in the video below) the battle between iPhone and Google’s soon to be released Android Phone, a much larger portion of individuals still have phones that they don’t access [...]
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El teléfono movil de Google más real que nunca - yockerland.net said:
[...] la gente de VentureBeat el GPhone saldría a la venta a partir de la segunda quincena de Octubre de la mano de HTC con el [...]
7:40 pm
Android a few weeks away? said:
[...] VentureBeat is reporting that the first Android-powered phone from HTC is weeks away from hitting the market. Android, Google’s open source smartphone platform that was unveiled last November, gives developers a much more open platform upon which to develop than does Apple with it iPhone SDK and Developer Program. Over the past few days, we’ve gotten multiple confirmations from reliable sources that the first phone built on Google’s Android platform will launch in the next several weeks. It will be an HTC phone, likely the HTC Dream, and will be launched internationally on the T-Mobile network. A window of between Oct 15 and Nov 30 is most likely, according to these sources. [...]
8:58 pm
Marc’s Voice » Blog Archive » Half way thru August ‘08 blogging said:
[...] HTC will build the first Google GPhone [...]
9:18 pm
uFrik - » Ya viene el Gphone! said:
[...] Venture Beat anunció que el teléfono de google basado en la plataforma Android saldrá entre el 15 de octubre y el 30 de noviembre!!!. Su precio será de aprox. $150 a clientes actuales de T-Mobile y posíblemente será una versión del telefono HTC DREAM con las siguientes características: [...]
10:27 pm
Googling Google mobile edition said:
[...] The Android project has been filled with rumor and speculation — and it continues. It sounds like the first handsets featuring Google Android will be available on September 17th for existing T-Mobile customers. There is no official word that confirms or denies this, but apparently the sources are credible. The first “Android phone” exists. It’s a HTC phone and it appears to already be in the “first series” phase as it is being distributed now among selected employees/managers at HTC, T-Mobile and 3rd parties. Various organizational activities, including marketing and training of employees, have started. — Venture Beat [...]
5:18 am
El Gphone está muy cerca… said:
[...] Venture Beat acaba de dar una excelente noticia para el mercado de terminales móviles: el primer teléfono de Google, el famoso Gphone que está basado en Android, sería lanzado entre el 15 de Octubre y el 30 de Noviembre, está construido por HTC y lo venderá T-Mobile en exclusiva. [...]
5:25 am
linkingclever.info » Blog Archive » Sources: HTC’s Google Android phone is “weeks away” from launching said:
[...] More: Sources: HTC’s Google Android phone is “weeks away” from launching [...]
9:00 am
Sources: HTC’s Google Android phone is “weeks away” from launching | HTCPhoneBlog.info said:
[...] This means it is being distributed now among selected employees/managers at HTC, T-Mobile and informed third parties. Various organizational activities, including marketing and training of employees have already started as well. … Read More [...]
9:23 am
tmonews said:
[...] some information that T-Mobile had started its preparations for the Android launch. A few weeks latehttp://venturebeat.com/2008/08/14/sources-htcs-google-android-phone-is-weeks-away-from-launching/Google Android to land next month? Silicon.com Is the HTC device on its way? [...]
10:02 am
Open Source mobile edition said:
[...] also because, as VentureBeat reports, T-Mobile is going to launch the phone with a special, high-priced data plan. In other words [...]
10:20 am
First Android phone will not be competitive | Computer Technology and Others said:
[...] also because, as VentureBeat reports, T-Mobile is going to launch the phone with a special, high-priced data plan. In other words [...]
10:45 am
Google releasing public Android SDK today? » VentureBeat said:
[...] move comes as HTC prepares to release the first Google Android phone. HTC also just won approval from the FCC for the [...]
12:12 pm
El Gphone está muy cerca… | AlgoEstaPasando.com said:
[...] de August del 2008 Electrónica de consumo, Gadgets, Teléfonos móviles Venture Beat acaba de dar una excelente noticia para el mercado de terminales móviles: el primer teléfono de [...]
6:17 am
Un telefono HTC con Google Android già il 17 Settembre? - MyLostBlog said:
[...] The first “Android phone” exists. It’s a HTC phone and it appears to already be in the “first series” phase as it is being distributed now among selected employees/managers at HTC, T-Mobile and 3rd parties. Various organizational activities, including marketing and training of employees, have started. — Venture Beat [...]
7:43 am
usa today said:
[...] in the next several weeks. It will be an HTC phone, likely the HTC Dream, and will be launched interhttp://venturebeat.com/2008/08/14/sources-htcs-google-android-phone-is-weeks-away-from-launching/News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World …Cypress Semiconductor [...]
1:16 am
Go Go Google Phone : SEMarketing said:
[...] According to recent reports, the first handset to use the open Android platform from Google should be available to the public before the end of the year. [...]
6:22 am
Alley Insider And Venture Beat Predict A Google Phone By Christmas | Pundit Watch – Track A-list Pundits From Politics, Technology and Entertainment said:
[...] Venture Beat is also reporting on the launch of the HTC Dream and pulling from multiple sources they are predicting that it will go on sale between Oct 15 and Nov 30. After years of hype the promise of the mobile web may actually now be materialising (well, maybe). qmwztlxb3 .hdwg div {color:inherit;font:inherit} .hdwg a{font:inherit} .hdwg div{margin:0px} .hdwg img {border:0px;padding:0px} .hdwg img {padding:0px} Will the Google phone hit the stores this year? [...]
11:46 am
Google enters the location ring…with the mobile OS it hopes to destroy » VentureBeat said:
[...] So it should be no surprise that Google announced a new geolocation service today, but what is surprising is where it works on mobile phones: On Windows Mobile. The same Windows Mobile that Android is no doubt hoping to destroy. While it’s nice that Google apparently doesn’t care about giving features to future competitors, it’s surprising this close to Android’s launch. [...]
4:57 am
Los Angeles Times » Blog Archive » Around the Web 8.14.08: Ultimate Ears bought, Google stock intact, McCain tech policy due said:
[...] – The first cellphone running Google’s mobile operating system, Android, is expected within weeks. VentureBeat [...]