T-Mobile to offer Android handset "soon," Reuters reports

It's not exactly a huge surprise, but Reuters is now reporting that T-Mobile will start selling a "mobile phone based on Google Inc's Android software" (otherwise known to everyone else as the HTC Dream) "within weeks," citing people familiar with the matter. The official announcement will apparently happen in New York City this month, with two sources further pegging the date for the announcement down to September 23rd, which mostly lines up with the details The New York Times reported last month. Buckle up, folks. Things are about to get interesting.

[Martin Rafferty @ Sep 10th 2008 3:53PM]

MY HTC DREAM BRINGS ALL THE NERDS TO THE HOOD, DARN RITE ITS BETTA THEN URS!

[WhoMe @ Sep 10th 2008 4:01PM]

Nice, nice.

Anyway, what other models are coming out that sport Android? Cuz that hunk o' plastic looks like a childs toy. Come to think of it, it reminds me of Chrome.

Yeah, I went there.

[billy bob thorton @ Sep 11th 2008 12:30AM]

I'm sure T mobile will figure out how to mess things up like slapping a big intrusive myfavs thing on the home screen. I love tmobile but never get any of their phones because they screw up an otherwise good user experience. so I usually get unlocked devices.

[Steve T @ Sep 16th 2008 7:10PM]

@ Billy Bob Thorton:

Umm... on the myfaves compatible phones I've reviewed, you could turn off or hide the faves home screen. Really there are better things to beat TMob up for.

[gabe @ Sep 10th 2008 3:53PM]

i'm buckled up - but now i have to adjust my chair and mirrors..

[Apple Computer Company @ Sep 10th 2008 4:27PM]

We at Apple want to make it very clear that we are completely in line with the 'fanboys' on this site. Apple's official position is that ALL other phones are "me-too" phones including the rotary dial phones.

We have not touched the HTC phone nor had any hands with Android software, but we want to assure everyone that it can't be any good. You should just blindly buy an iPhone and hope that it comes out of Beta some day.

[indeed @ Sep 10th 2008 3:54PM]

This comment fading thing is hurting my eyes! At least make it so only the low ranked ones fade.

[Mel @ Sep 10th 2008 4:06PM]

Seriously. I don't want to have to rank everyone up just so I can safely read what they said. This is stupid.

[indeed @ Sep 10th 2008 5:05PM]

Engadget should make a poll. Stop screwing with the comment system, please!
It was fine before this, I think...

[agrabren @ Sep 10th 2008 6:20PM]

It's a lot easier to add new fading features than to fix all the bugs with it, like the double-posting, or the lack of edit feature...

[phanbouy @ Sep 10th 2008 9:31PM]

i wouldn't exactly say it was fine....

but this isn't helping.

[thedesolate1 @ Sep 12th 2008 10:09PM]

Or the pressing F5 Syndrome because of the lag between when you post and when it shows up.

[thedesolate1 @ Sep 11th 2008 10:32AM]

Yeah and the pressing F5 syndrome because of the lag between when you comment and when it shows up.

[Jeremy K. @ Sep 10th 2008 3:55PM]

Alright... my T-Mobile contract ends in February, so maybe I'll have a little time for the price to go down.

[vman81 @ Sep 10th 2008 3:56PM]

Wanting the iphone always made me feel dirty, and not in the good way..

I'm glad I waited because this phone addresses all those worries.

[chefgon_ign @ Sep 10th 2008 3:57PM]

Do we know the specs for this thing, or are we still limited to its general appearance and the knowledge that it runs Android? It looks pretty decent, and I might consider replacing my old Tmo Dash with it, but if the internal hardware is garbage then I'll just wait for a second gen Android phone.

[Benson @ Sep 10th 2008 7:48PM]

The internal hardware is garbage.*


*This statement may be slightly biased by needing to get a T-mo account and phone last week, and therefore waiting for 2nd-gen of necessity.


Honestly, if I had a Dash, I _think_ I'd wait, especially since I live in an area where 3G won't roll out approximately forever. But I just got a Nokia 3555, mainly as a solid EDGE (and 3G, should I visit someplace with it) modem for my N800; I'll wait for 2nd-gen, and for better availability of Android software.

And if it's not 3G (AFAIK, we've no solid confirmation), I definitely wouldn't get it. But I can't imagine it isn't; I don't think Google would let them wreck the Android launch like that.

[Tumbleweed @ Sep 10th 2008 3:58PM]

HTC Touch Pro vs HTC Touch Diamond vs HTC Dream vs HD Touch HD vs iPhone 3G vs Sony-Ericsson X1...you realize, of course, this means war.

[OnlyShawn @ Sep 10th 2008 4:49PM]

...it's an exciting time to be coming off contract. :) and, better yet, coming off sprint with viable alternatives available elsewhere. I always felt shady in the past talking to retentions, saying I was considering leaving, because nobody had a phone that I felt compared with my 650/700p. Now there's the very awesome looking BB bold, this HTC Dream, the sony xperia....and, of course, the very awesome Touch Pro.

I really will be calling and saying "make me an offer I can't refuse, or I will take my and my wife's monthly contract elsewhere".

Now, I just have to get her to quit using dumb phones and calling me all the time to find information for her.

[burriot_avatar @ Sep 10th 2008 3:58PM]

They'd better not be pulling my leg. I can't wait to get me some Android.

[Maciek @ Sep 10th 2008 3:59PM]

I have to say that from the day this thing saw the day light (the legit shots) it looks a bit tacky but at the same time nice. I for one will be jumping on the bandwagon and getting G1. Amazingly this will be the second phone that I will be getting from T-Mobile since I joined in 2001. I wonder one thing...will texting / number dialing be available through the touch screen as well or only through the qwerty keyboard (texting only). It's also good to see that T-Mobile is causing some commotion and anticipation with the release of this device.

[TareX @ Sep 10th 2008 4:50PM]

Actually seeing the HTC HD today is making me take a step back and reconsider jumping the Android bandwagon. I'm not talking about the superslow WM 6.1 on it, but WM7.

I mean imagine holding a device like the HTC HD, with its enormous WVGA screen, powered by NVidia Tegra processor, and running WM7. Now that would definitely be a next-gen phone.

On the other hand the Dream (G1) will launch in less than a month now, while WM7 has a couple of months ahead of it... so maybe I'll give Android a try and see how things are.... even though the Dream's HVGA resolution is a huge let down.

[pozzitron @ Sep 10th 2008 3:59PM]

I wish android had a cooler name.. something like gPhone. gDroid

[burriot_avatar @ Sep 10th 2008 4:06PM]

http://code.google.com/android/

Feel free to make your "gPhone" software. It is open source.

[HalfJoey @ Sep 10th 2008 4:00PM]

Arrgh do I switch carrier from Verizon to T-Mobile for this or do I stick with Verizon and wait for the HTC Touch Pro?!11 I want Android and Verizon, damn it.

[phobic99 @ Sep 10th 2008 4:01PM]

I've been using my hacked iPhone on T-Mo for a while but I'm jumping ship as soon as this Android is released. The iPhone is good and all but it's lacking quite a bit in some areas. I'm willing to use a gen 1 phone as a result.

[zbot @ Sep 10th 2008 11:32PM]

@phobic: exactly. i'm in the exact same boat.

btw, does anyone know if t-mo is getting visual voicemail?

[Nando @ Sep 10th 2008 4:11PM]

Really cool!!

[Ryan @ Sep 10th 2008 4:13PM]

I saw someone using the Dream on the Red Line yesterday in Chicago, it was unbranded with an HTC model number on the bottom of the front. Needless to say, it looked like a great device and seeing it in person really got me wanting it. Bad.

Sorry no blurrycam shots!

[TareX @ Sep 10th 2008 5:18PM]

That phone you're describing was the phone from the I/O conference. Plenty of non-blurry shots of it are already available.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/2549/androidfulltouchscreendcx9.jpg

[Mike C @ Sep 10th 2008 4:14PM]

Anyone have a clue what this will run $$ wise since the OS is open source and the service is ad subsidized, or at least I remember reading it was?

[1234 @ Sep 10th 2008 11:12PM]

Various sites report $150 with contract pre-order sales and 200$ ($250?) after the pre-order.

[decadeofevil @ Sep 10th 2008 4:20PM]

this is great news, contract is up very soon , my dash is getting older and id like something comparable but better!!!

[omoks @ Sep 10th 2008 4:24PM]

I just don't get it! The Dream is the ugliest phone hands down. Unless there's a different design out there I wouldn't be caught anywhere near this phone. Uggghhh!

[Brent @ Sep 10th 2008 4:26PM]

I'd really like to see Android running on a real phone. The emulator is kinda slow on my PC. I love the idea of cooking up my own applications, and after briefly looking at the API, it should be relatively painless to do.

[Sean @ Sep 10th 2008 4:33PM]

I haven't seen any reliable specs that say if this is going to support T-Mobile's HSDPA network on the AWS 1700/2100 spectrum. Anyone know?

[satadru @ Sep 10th 2008 4:47PM]

If the device is called Android Dream... shouldn't it be called Blade Runner?

[Jrperiod @ Sep 10th 2008 4:52PM]

I love the concept of Andriod but i refuse to buy what hardware wise amounts to a sidekick. Why did HTC deviate from the Diamond and Touch Pro? Better yet why isn't the 1st android device a Diamond, or a Touch Pro?

[JerryA @ Sep 10th 2008 5:55PM]

Because HTC makes all kinds of devices. TMo perhaps wanted something like a modernized Sidekick for their first Android device since they always did well with the Sidekick. Since Android is an OS, look forward to seeing it other types of devices in the future. No doubt some of these will be in other form factors like flip phones, touchscreen-brick iphone type, Mogul/Tilt-type slider, Treo/BB style, etc. HTC seems to love putting out variations on their handsets so I would expect them and others to have plenty of Android phones out within the next year or so.

[xnifex @ Sep 10th 2008 5:03PM]

Screw this, Tmo needs to release that HTC Touch HD... so secksie!!!

[Wii @ Sep 10th 2008 5:14PM]

Why? Window Mobile suck.

[Just-uh-Thought @ Sep 10th 2008 5:11PM]

I am all for the Android - I'm all for the iPhone - I am all about HTC - I have 2 of the three - but I'll wait for Android to hit some better hardware than what is pictured above. That and I did just break a T-mobile contract - I'd rather not be on the nation's slowest network with Android. I like (smart) phones in general - they all offer something that uniquely is better than the others provide - I aim to see what it is that Android does!

[huh @ Sep 10th 2008 5:27PM]

From what I've seen, a lot of people got sucked into the iPhone hype and made the multi year commitment. This is going to harm Android and all other phone's sales. Gotta hand it to Apple for riding the hype.

[Quix @ Sep 10th 2008 6:11PM]

Kinda like Blackberry hype and Android hype? Yep. Troll Different.

And that cheap looking turd shown in the photo at the top of this post is not exactly going to bring the customers swarming to T-Mobile's doors.

[Hellaphunt @ Sep 10th 2008 5:41PM]

I sincerely hope that other carriers will provide an Android-based mobile phone that does NOT look like an HTC out of someone else's Dream...

Me so corny.

[James @ Sep 10th 2008 6:01PM]

competition sweet competition hopefully this will prod apple to get of its ass and start making some serious efforts to improve the iphone

[Nathan @ Sep 10th 2008 6:13PM]

That picture makes it looks so big and clunky. I don't think I'd want one of those.

[dBs @ Sep 10th 2008 6:14PM]

Any particularly compelling reason to think that this phone wont be hack/crackable only other GSM networks?

[Jamesy @ Sep 10th 2008 6:31PM]

Give it to me now!

[taylor @ Sep 10th 2008 9:03PM]

i wish i could find some solid information on the damn thing! i am with tmo and goddamn if they arent the most uninformed people on this round fucking earth then i dont know who is? there is no definate price, specs are here and there depending on where you read them! For godsakes the sales reps dont even know when the preordering starts. i go in the store and say hey i want to preorder the htc dream, G1, android whatever the fuck you call it and then the sales rep looks at me like i just ask him how to build a fucking space ship? wtf tmo? how about throwing just two bits of fucking useful information out there. sorry so bitter guys.