Samsung, LG said to be releasing Android phones in Q3 '09 "at the earliest"
By Donald Melanson 
posted Sep 29th 2008 4:18PM
posted Sep 29th 2008 4:18PM
Neither LG nor Samsung have ever gone so far to as pin down an actual release date for their promised Android-based phones, but it looks like they could each now be giving themselves yet more wiggle room, at least if the supposedly in the know Mirae Asset Securities is to be believed. According to it, we now shouldn't expect to see Android handsets from either manufacturer before the second half of 2009 "at the earliest," which doesn't exactly match up with earlier word that both companies were aiming for a release in "early 2009." Venturing even further into speculation, Mirae says that the delay is a result of "negative responses" from mobile phone operators like Vodafone, as well as some general skepticism among advertising sponsors about Google's profit model for the phones. Of course, none of those parties mentioned are actually saying anything themselves just yet, so you may do well to take all of this with a hefty grain of salt for the time being.[Via Unwired View]
By that time I guess everyone would be better off buying the G2.
Or maybe a Touch HD + Android, thanks to the (upcoming?) efforts at XDA.
Unless XDA can add a compass to the Touch HD, I don't think Android will be that good on it.
Also, Windows Mobile 7 will be out by then.... with Tegra running the WM7 phones, it will be hard for people to look at any other OSes.
I'm hope the processor will exceed 900mhz because if it doesn't than I don't see the point. Add some LED blubs, camera, etc etc GPS....
LED blubs are friggin' awesome.
since phones are mainly multitasking i think a 500 dual core would be perfect.
@deyanimay "since phones are mainly multitasking i think a 500 dual core would be perfect."
Well do you really multitask or do you single task + phone? Why not separate the phone portion to a small virtualized OS/kernel with it's own dedicated (low power) processor. This frees up resources for computing tasks while adding reliability to the phone features.
I, for one, welcome our new android phones
you dont do it right
I for one welcome or new Android running smartphone overloards!
I wonder if engadget has got any page views from people using pre release g1's?
Wait, WHY so long?
I have no idea. Its not like these things haven't been spoken about for a year now. It really must be that companies are too afraid of change and new pieces of software. Jorvay (below) is right. And their overbearing control is upsetting customers, the companies just don't know what they should do.
When the g1 first came out i was like i want one but then i looked at the price and my current contract (1 year remaining) with t-mobile and thought g3 here i came.
"the delay is a result of "negative responses" from mobile phone operators like Vodafone"
If it's anything like Rogers in Canada, this is probably because the provider is too afraid of losing total, overbearing control of the phones on their networks.
Which is why Rogers is a nice fit with the iPhone, where they share total overbearing control with Apple.
I'm seriously hoping Telus and/or Bell do the smart thing and pick up a Android phone to compete.
That's too long. With a platform like Android, they should have been flooding the market with handsets, petty much on par with Symbian and Windows Mobile. I do realize however, that these do take time. But still, these guys need to hurry up if they really want to compete. Have phones in all shapes and sizes.
Why rush it? The world isn't going to end tomorrow, the big collider thing already broke due to overheating problems and won't be started at full power any time soon, remember? :)
T-Mobile took a risk with G1. A lot will be learned with it. When Samsung, LG, and others get around to their versions, the OS would have time to mature. Apps would mature.
People that have used HTC's first touch based WinMo interfaced and compared it to the Touch Diamond, PRO, and HD versions see a massive improvement. The guys over XDA have also done some great things with third party touch interfaces.
Android gives a backbone to potentially powerful little devices.
Also, Android, although open source, could be made custom for various phones. Operators could cripple android to do what they want. That's what the whole aspect about business models is in the article. Rogers could work on Android to make an OS that does make the device limited.
Having Android doesn't equal having complete freedom. Android could be made like the iPhone where it's not completely open.
Hopefully Android is left like WinMo where it is completely customizable. I agree the WinMo's default interface is crappy, but the ability to completely overhaul and customize it on your own makes the OS great. You can make it look like an iPhone if you want, you can make it look like the WM7 coming out soon. You can make what you want. Most of the time with no charge at all. Thank you open source development community for that one. Operators didn't argue to lock WinMo because the potential payout for a phone that business can easily integrate for outweighed having a limited OS.
The open source development community will give the same freedom for Android as long as operator don't cripple them. The only issue with Android is that the built in market for it is not as big as WinMo, iPhone, or Blackberry. Sure, developers and geeks alike will push it, but this is a small number compared to total users. How many businesses will dump WinMo or Blackberry?
My prediction is that Android will lay low for a bit and mature. I think it will move in the direction to where you will have phones with non-touch Android versions that don't even make reference to Android. I see Android potentially replacing carrier and phone manufacturer specific OS's first. Potentially a Samsung Instinct II and LG Dare II will utilize Android. HTC as we see has already did it's first take. It would be cool if you can chose a phone, then chose the OS. "I want and HTC Touch HD and Android (or WinMO)!" Talk about freedom of choice....
NOOoooooooooooooooooo.....................
Damn.
"Mirae says that the delay is a result of "negative responses" from mobile phone operators like Vodafone, as well as some general skepticism among advertising sponsors about Google's profit model for the phones."
if these companies don't like phat profitz, that's fine with me, but considering all the excitement about T-mobile's upcoming release, if i were a CEO it would make sense to me to at least offer an introductory phone, rather than jumping in during the middle game (viz. sony, lenovo, LG on netbooks).
Android is already in trouble. Google might be able to bypass the carriers in a couple countries, but not worldwide.
totally dude... it's, like, already had a week on the market bro and is already so last week
why can't htc sell an android phone with no carrier affiliation? i would buy an unlocked android handset like the g1 for $800 if i could.
I, for one, welcome our green, jointless, bug-like overlords.
It seems to me that this might be a great opportunity for smaller, less well established electronics companies to use Android to get a leg up (or at lest a foot in the door with consumers) off the bigger cellphone manufacturers who are so tightly bound by the constrictions imposed by the carriers. And if the builds are done right, good for us consumers as well.
Nice. Waiting for a way to install Android on my HTC Windows Mobile phone......