Telstra has given the G1 HTC Google Android phone a miss and is instead waiting for the new G2 model insiders are claiming.
The news comes as Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC is expected to launch its G1 “Dream” mobile phone powered by Google’s open-source Android operating system in Australia tomorrow, with Optus tipped as the likely sole carrier.
At the recent CES Conference in Las Vegas senior Telstra executives said that the new HTC G2 Touch offering due later this year was a better phone that the new Palm Pre.
HTC’s Australian PR agency, Upstream, yesterday rushed out email media invitations to an HTC event tomorrow morning, where it promised the “unveiling of its latest device at an exciting location in Sydney”.
And in a significant comment, it added: “Please save this date in your diary for what will be a dreamy event not to be missed.” Dreamy, eh? Wonder what that could be?
Interestingly, the sole US carrier, T-Mobile, has dropped the “Dream” tag.
It calls the HTC phone the “T-Mobile G1 with Google”.
Whatever it’s called, the potential arrival of the G1 or just possibly a completely new G2 version has been creating quite a stir in the smartphone market. The expectation is that Android phones may be able to offer some real opposition to Apple’s all-conquering iPhone 3G though early indications are that the G1 has been trailing iPhone sales in the US.
The G1 is much the same size as the iPhone. It has a slightly smaller display (3.2in. compared with the iPhone’s 3.5in screen) but the same 480 x 320 resolution. (Local importer Ruslan Kogan’s attempt to market an Android phone in Australia from January was cancelled, apparently because the device’s 2.8-inch screen and its resolution would not accommodate apps now being developed for the Android platform).
Unlike the iPhone, the G1 has a physical keyboard that slides from beneath the handset when held in landscape mode. The phone connects to HSPA 3G networks as well as GSM and 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi. It also comes with Bluetooth, GPS and a photo-sharing 3-megapixel camera.
Story By Computer Daily News
