Android-powered HTC Dream to sell for $199 on T-Mobile
By Darren Murph 
posted Sep 18th 2008 12:04AM
posted Sep 18th 2008 12:04AM
[Via Fortune]
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You would think if HTC was taking this seriously that they would of made a better looking handset to compete with the "jesus" phone....otherwise I would agree with the pricing.
Any word on how much it'll cost w/o contract?
"though there's no word yet on what it'll run sans subsidization" ... guess thats a tad too fancy a sentence for ya huh?
$400
I LOVE the new comment ranking system!
I just really wanna know if I can get it on ATT.Or buy the tmobile one and get it to work on att.
I want to know what Tmo will be charging for the plan. In the words of the great Mel Brooks, "What'll it cost man, what'll it cost!?"
I have a feeling that I will be disappointed with Android. It will probably be missing one or more major feature in a basic smartphone (exchange? copy/paste? a good music player?). Then again it's a 1.0 product.
Then again, the iphone is on 2.0 now and it's still missing:
* MMS
* Copy/paste
* Flash
* Video Capture
etc....
I'm with you on these ones man!
Because of the flexibility of the platform, I find it hard to believe that something will be left out and there won't be a solution for end users at most in a short amount of time after release.
Now, if T-Mobile tries to muck with the OS, then that's another story.
I think the only problem will be that the form factor is a bit ugly, albeit practical/useful.
I was hoping by second gen, the iPhone would have addressed all that, but sadly it hasn't. With Android being an open platform, I hope any missing features will be quickly filled in shortly after release. But I am also expecting some things to be missing at launch, given it is first gen as you mentioned.
On the looks of the device, not ready to judge until the real unveiling. Again it's important to note Android is not only about this HTC Dream, so for people who don't like the looks, there will be other phones coming along fairly soon.
Well, Android DOES have copy/paste functionality.
I've installed it on my HTC Touch, and that worked fine.
The web browser is really nice, but Flash content came up with the classic 'jigsaw puzzle' plug-in content box instead of actual video.
Can't speak to the other stuff, and this was an early from April that was in a single executable space, as opposed to more recent releases like the following...
http://it029000.massey.ac.nz/vogue/
Personally, I have never missed MMS or Video Capture. MMS is unnecessary because I just email photos if need be. Video capture on cell phones is always of poor quality.
I have only missed Copy and Paste on rare occasions. There are workarounds for many scenarios.
The lack of Flash has frustrated me on a number of occasions. That's the only one I'd like to see addressed.
All in all, I've been very satisfied with the iPhone and it doesn't deserve the wrath of the haters, but they hate anything that becomes too popular, so it's no surprise. Still, I'm very curious about Android because I love Google. We will see.
Flash really chokes on the PC Chrome browser
The difference being its not going to take Google a year to release updates with features. I'd bet that we will see major feature updates in the next 6 months. Hell Google themselves has said that the Bluetooth API will be complete in the very near future.
Yes there is copy paste, and also check out this video if you're wondering what kind of music software it has.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFjAdgwqtfU
I thought you'd like that.
Yea I think round 1 might suck a bit, but just think of how awesome it will be in a year or whatever - when all the problems are sorted out it'll be super awesome.
I heard a rumor from a friend that attended a development conference that Skyfire will have an Android browser by early 2009. That should be able to help with flash although I know that this phone will come preloaded with Chrome - which isn't bad but nothing like Firefox!
or, you could jailbreak your phone and add those features. only on a t-mobile related article would you get highly ranked, none of what you said is new or interesting to anyone who has an iphone. And yes, my iphone is on t-mobile.
i'd guess about 300-400
Apparently 'someone' didn't get the memo about that type of behavior. Moving on.
$199 price point? That's definitely a direct shot. Time to head to the schoolyard and watch the fight after class!!
Not much of a struggle there...
I don't get it...everything HTC has made recently is sharp and sexy. Then you get the Dream. Don;t get me wrong, am excited to see the final UI from google. but why so bulky and ugly. The product design had to be Googles doing.
HOWEVER, there's no internal memory adding to the cost. Memory is cheap, but it's an added cost. Although most just look a time of purchase cost so it probably won't affect much. Can't wait to try this out though. But for comparison to an iPhone I hope it has a big screen!!!
I agree what it looks bulky in photos, but according to the FCC, its dimensions are nearly identical to the iPhone, it's really skinny for a qwerty slider. I think it's going to look much, much nicer in person.
Well obviously they would not charge more than what an iPhone costs... T-mobile wants new customers... not to charge more money for a device that the general public does not know about...
Hmm... $199 iPhone on AT&T New fangled device on T-Mobile $199
factor in how much more expensive an iphone plan is...
Does anyone else think this device is ugly. I know HTC doesn't have the brightest history of good looking devices (recently has gotten much better) but this is bad even for them. I know that it is cool because of Android but come on the flagship launch of Android and you can't even pretty it up a little bit. Oh well I guess I will just wait till I get back into the country next spring to see what AT&T has in their lineup at the time.
Right behind you in that that, looks old, thick, and toyish with the main buttons along the bottom edge.
I totally agree!
This HTC phone looks fugly!
Maybe HTC didn't put all their efforts in creating the G1.
Though HTC makes some pretty darn good phones... (Have you've seen the Touch HD?!?!?!)
Yeahhh, I'm not terribly impressed with the design, either. I think they could've done a lot better job than they did. How can they come up with something as gorgeous as HTC Touch HD or Touch Pro or Diamond and then fart this ugly thing out as a footnote?
I was just about to post the same thing! Seriously, they know what they are up against, why not at least TRY to make a good looking handset?
i'm not sure why they made that bottom lip angle up.
also, this thing looks much less toyish in black. not sure where the link is...
Damn ugly. Should have been named the Nightmare.
Zing!
We'll ignore the fact that Engadget keeps using the picture of this obvious prototype without any cleaned up finish. I'm certain that in black with a backlite keyboard this thing will look sweet.
I agree. I would love to think that the images we've been exposed to are not accurate, but we've seen the FCC filing for the shaping. Like other comments on this topic, I hope that the final product looks better in person than it does on screen. But we do know the dimensions of the G1 aren't that far from a certain keyboardless handset that doesn't run WinMo...:D
Hold your horses people! The final model is much more polished looking (literally and figuratively). Check out the video from London the other day. It looks quite nice.
Hah! Have you seen what T-Mobile does to their branded phones before?
Re: the HTC 8125:
AT&T's = http://www.wirefly.com/images/phones/cingular_8125_cingular_z1.jpg
T-Mobile's = http://www.mycellphoneblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/t-mobile-mda.jpg
I'd bet the photos we've seen are a real design.
I hope that phone in the picture is just an assumption of what the Dream looks like.
Yep its super ugly
@ripp... thats what she said!
until andriod gets put on the touch HD or an equivalent then I don't care how cool the software is.
Perhaps HTC should look at spending money developing updated graphics drivers for its Tytn II model to appease some 16 000 disappointed end users (+ me) before they try to make another wonder product.
They've already got your money, they don't give a crap about you.
I'm pretty sure I saw someone using one of these over the past week and I can tell you that the device he was using looked EXACTLY the same, but it was black. It looked a lot better in person than that picture, but I can't say more because the guy had to put the phone away before I had a chance to look at it.
HTC devices are like Archos devices, they drop the ball when it comes to functionality and design.
Uhm, you have seen the Touch series right? (HD, Diamond, Pro)
Not the Touch HD according to what I've read...
Like with everyone else up top, I don't think I'm budging till a HTC HD-esque device pops up with it.
Well I would have to disagree with you on both counts. I happen to own both a htc tytn (hermes, 8125) and an Archos Mp3/Media player and while I don't think either is particularly beautiful both are very capable devices especially for the time frame that they were released in. I personally am looking at either the touch pro or the xperia x1 both of which are manufactured by HTC. However I will be waiting until spring and am hoping to see a similar design with Android loaded.
Hmm, HTC devices have been nothing but solid for me. Been using them now for 3 years. And looking to get another one.
congratulations, you are wrong on both counts.
I finally left T-Mobile 2 months ago and bought an iPhone after waiting FOREVER for them to step out of 2005 and get 3G level service and a selection of phones that were not left overs after AT&T and Verizon had first pick. Well, I have come to the conclusion that T-Mobile must have recruited its marketing department directly from the Helen Keller institute if this is what they have decided to put in competition with the iPhone. This thing looks like it was glued together in a 7th grade shop class from old microwave oven keypads. Dream on!
haha. thats pretty funny.
Hmm...
I'm a little behind when it comes to the whole Android thing, and especially this handset, which I find oddly appealing.
Can someone catch me up to speed on specs and such?
A link would suffice.
http//www.engadget.com
Ha a link would suffice. You know what would also suffice? Doing a damn google search on your own.
blah...
i'm getting ready to dump t-mo to get the real thing...
every single time a new cool phone comes out they say that its gonna be better then the iPhone but they never get even close, i dont think this one will be any different, although it will get closer than others
Meh.
This thing is not merely ugly... it looks un-usable. Is this design going to be at all comfortable? Me thinks not. The design is totally lopsided with that extra chunk of plastic on the right side. It sure seems like my right hand is going to tired awfully fast. (That's what she said.)
I guess we'll just wait until it ships.
I sat out the first two rounds of iPhone... I suppose I might just wait for the second round of Android phones and hope for the best.
They must be smoking crack rocks and chillen with corrupt cops if they think that the device in that picture can compete with the looks+features of the touch"s, iPhones, nokias and Sony erricsons of the world. It seems like pretty much since the debut of the iPhone blackberry bold, htc diamond and other good looking phones people want form with there function.
yo.
In my dreams, I fuck models who look like they jumped off the Victoria's Secret runway and came straight over to my place, complete with angel wings.
I never dream the hot model's touch-screen turd. (I'm not German)
"I never dream the hot model's touch-screen turd. (I'm not German)"
Indeed.
They are coming out with a black one too. I think being white makes it look much uglier than it is.
What are you tech heads doing with these phones? sleeping with them?
The only thing yall going to do with these phones are surf the net for porn and email all fucking day!
"Hey, I saw you in Starbucks like twenty minutes ago. Like your skinny jeans."
Besides, these smart phones are nothing but bullshit! just hand held laptops.
Get a damn life!!
Terry, you sir are a fucking moron. I am an election judge. I was at my polling place week before last. Someone came in and had no idea where to go. It definitely wasn't in Dakota county which was the only index we had. Instead of pulling up the state index online we had to call in to find that info.
tell me again how net access is only useful for porn? Again...moron.
@Jon
I have no idea what you just said but I agree!
I think the phone will be one of the most functional phones on the market. It not the sexiest looking phone but it WILL get the job done. Check it the dudes behind this whole android project is the ex CEO of Danger ... Google and some x T-mobile employee(dont know his position ) So i doubt they will be stupid enough to leave things out. The phone should be released by the time t-mo rolls out there 3g network... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Mobile_USA#3G_Upgrade .... OCT 1st.... and you can thank the government for the delay .. they refused to abandon the frequencies that the FCC auctioned off to t-mo as a result backing up the implementation of 3G.. and i bet thats why they had the lack of good phones coming our way.. why would they drop killer devices that wouldnt be able to use 3G..? i bet they will start to roll out the hardware now!
"I think the phone will be one of the most functional phones on the market".
Maybe you confuse "functional" mit "many many functions"?
"It not the sexiest looking phone but it WILL get the job done."
" So i doubt they will be stupid enough to leave things out."
This kind of approach seems to be imho part of the problem.
I'm actually concerned by that number. remember you get what you pay for. What is missing in the specs with $200? Less on board RAM to store apps? I'm still interested in the phone. I'm just worried.
Well the iPhone is $200 and it has 8GB of storage space. I think we'll be fine.
I don't know if I should cry of happiness or jump with excitement.
199 US DOLLARS...
RIIIIIIIIIIIDGE RACER!!!!!!!!
@terry
Well we may as well be like you...revert back to our land lines, write a snail mail and re-open our AOL accounts on dial up plan and jerk off to kiddie porn while enjoying our boring life out in the boonies. GO REDNECKS
http://androidcommunity.com/android-is-fast-and-fully-baked-claims-packetvideo-vp-20080918/
That is all.
'Faster than the iphone' that guy was saying about Android, and the first true multitasking phone OS.
Faster than the iphone in what sense? That's a very vague thing to say. I click an app on my iphone and it opens pretty quickly.
The other point about being truly multitasking just sounds to me like it's going to EAT battery life.
I can listen to music and surf the internet already at the same time on my iphone - i mean how many things can you actually physically deal with at the same time on a device that small?
Both are great, both multi task, both are NOT microsoft.
I'm an OSX user, so having a phone that TOTALLY integrates with virtually everything i do on my main computer is just outstanding.
That's the one thing i think Android is not making too much noise about so far.
Sure, it will be great in the palm of your hand, but how well will it integrate into your daily home PC?
WTHeck is all y'all's problem? I never knew engadget's reader base was mostly female. Who cares how it looks? That's only one angle anyway, and it really only matters how cool it looks when the keyboard is closed and you are using the touch-screen with one hand while the other hand is givin a high-five.
This device is sweet. It looks like you will be able to slide that screen out, then up! Angle it on the desk and watch movies or whatever it is you girls watch. I'm getting one for sure. Oh wait, I'm in college.
You can jailbreak an iphone so easily and already do video, chat, and a million other things.
I'm actually really surprised at how good the video is - 2 megapixels @ 14fps. A bit jerky, but not grainy at all.
There's loads great stuff like Intelliscreen too that put all sorts of things on your lock screen, like ical, weather, new emails...
http://intelliborn.com/products.html
I look forward to seeing Android too though, it's great that there is another huge player, breaking us all away from Windows.
As far as the HTC dream goes, they REALLY need to give that thing a serious makeover. Looks like it was made by Amstrad.
I think Apple have left out ichat because it would eat in to the carriers SMS market.
The success of this phone will be measured in the number of devices manufacturers are willing to put this on and whether or not carriers will carry Android to the mass market. T-Mobile will always be the first, and AT&T will always be the last in terms of carriers looking to carry a new product. Sprint might be next but who knows how fast the adoption rate of this phone would be. Third Party developers need to develop for this and right now and developers are in a catch-22 where you can't develop on this platform since the market share is so low and the return on your development money is going to be uncertain. You kinda need to have a thriving developer base with a huge market share but with Google's Android strategy lacking a mass market effect, success is very low at this point. Only on one phone? You don't see people standing in line for this phone quite yet....poor launch.
Our company wants to develop on the platform but how big will the market be for this platform? It's just going to be a big PR thing for us if we do decide to publish anything on this phone and/or platform
http://www.ivisit.com
We do video conferencing on phones and desktop. 8 way multiparty collaboration
Phillip
No unlocked version? Is it going to sell only with contract? If so, I hate HTC!
There is always a no-contract version, but the actual product you get will be identical to the on-contract version. Given T-mo's apparent exclusive deal I find it highly unlikely there will be an unlocked version direct from HTC.
The exclusivity agreement is supposedly only for about a month. Being in this open handset alliance kinda means you love everybody and will share the wealth, kinda like Communist China, but more googley.
I guess I've been a bit spoiled in the latest period but why did HTC suddenly decided to release a new model on the wrong side of the pond?
My american friends are nearly bankrupt, their financial institutions close down as soon as the keys can be found, and their currency keeps being dumped as soon as freshly minted euros can be bought.
So HTC? What's that supposed to mean?
OK , I'll admit it: I am gelous.
I want the darn thing and I'm ready to part from some of my hard earned euros to get one.
Bring it over here HTC , we'll know how to appreciate it.
I guess I've been a bit spoiled in the latest period but why did HTC suddenly decided to release a new model on the wrong side of the pond?
My american friends are nearly bankrupt, their financial institutions close down as soon as the keys can be found, and their currency keeps being dumped as soon as freshly minted euros can be bought.
So HTC? What's that supposed to mean?
OK , I'll admit it: I am gelous.
I want the darn thing and I'm ready to part from some of my hard earned euros to get one.
Bring it over here HTC , we'll know how to appreciate it.
The situation isn't really bad for most people unless you're a business executive or heavily invested in stocks. I'm making significantly more money now than I was two years ago when the economy was supposed to be great, and everything still costs the same.
Would still be nice of them to release worldwide, of course, but I think it's about damn time that T-Mobile USA did something cool. They usually just take the approach of not even trying.
Is it just me or does this remind anyone else of what a Sidekick PRO would look like?
yay solid information! too bad i have to use my upgrade though! i cant wait for android....eat that iphone! "how do you like them apples"
The phone is not sexy enough. Well, I don't care about the PHONE, i care about the OS...
If Android works as advertised I can worry about what plastic box it come in with the next half dozen iterations.
199 USD? pff. That's nothing in real money
If the prereleased look of Android-powered HTC Dream that is being featured is the real thing, then T-Mobile and HTC design collaboration is flawed. It will go in history as one of the ugliest smartphone to be rolled out of production. The buttons on the bottom of the phone compromised the screen size. When the screen pops up to reveal the keyboard, the ugliness of the phone is further enhanced. Poor T-Mobile; last to come out with a smartphone to compete with the iphone. T-Mo has all the time in the world to perfect; and yet screwed the debut. I hope the picture that I am seeing is not the real thing, otherwise, after years of loyalty to T-Mobile, time to move on to other carriers with better handsets.
i dont know if this has already been announced for android but will it run a chrome beta browser on it????
i hope so
why doesnt HTC touch HD use Android instead of WM?
i dun really like the WM on diamond...
ew this phone is a mess ... they cannot seriously think people want this contraption.