First Google Android Phone Expected to Hit Stores in October

This morning in London Google has demonstrated a working prototype of Android phone. In the meanwhile VentureBeat reports Android-powered Dream phone (or G1 which is another possible name - there’s no clarity about it for now) will be available in T-Mobile stores as soon as October 17 (which is only one month from now). Note that this is not an entirely certain date and the final announcement is supposed to be made by T-Mobile on September 23 at a press conference in New York. But the most important fact is that the phone is still supposed to hit stores in October - be it on the 17^th or later.

There’s no surprise that application developers are eagerly waiting for the device to start selling. The reason is pretty simple - the applications are supposed to be distributed easier on Google’s platform than they are with Apple where Apple approves (or not) applications for them to appear in the marketplace. Besides, Google also promises that the marketplace will feature multiple payment options - and this is supposed to serve as an additional advantage to consumers. And the open approach selected by Google for its mobile platform clearly explains why the application developers are more than excited about the upcoming launch of the platform and the first Android-powered handsets.

Besides, if Android proves to work as expected, it will have chances of being used on hundreds of mobile devices by any manufacturers that will not be charged for the platform. This is a wise move for Google hoping to get its apps (and its ads, obviously) to as many handsets as possible - thus dramatically increasing the potential market for the platform and applications running on the platform.

One important thing that T-Mobile is supposed to announce at the press conference next Tuesday is, no doubt, price of the device. Until it is clear if the device is affordable enough, we won’t be able to predict how users will adopt it. And since it is the first device on Android and is expected to show the potential of the market to Google, it is definitely important to see how the device will be greeted by potential customers. But anyway if a particular user is happy about everything but the price, it could be wise waiting for your perfect device from another manufacturer to arrive.

Image via TechRadar