With the first Android-powered phone set to go on sale tomorrow, Google has released the Android source code to encourage developers to develop applications based on the Android operating system. Not only that, developers can help improve the Android operating system by submitting new features, new ideas and bug fixes. I believe the announcement is no longer a surprise since Google has long stated that it will make the Android source code available.

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Looks like the month of October is going to be tough for iPhone, T-Mobile has confirmed the arrival of T-Mobile G1 phone powered by Google Android operating system on October 22  and it is now being rumored that the Nokia Tube will be launched globally on October 2.

Nokia Tube which has been featured in the latest Batman film is Nokia’s first touchscreen phone.

Well, lets hope that Nokia will come up with an official statement on this, and let us also hope that the Nokia Tube will have features similar to iPhone or T-Mobile G1 phones.

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T-Mobile G1 (the much-awaited HTC dream), has been announced today. The T-Mobile G1 is the first handset powered by Google’s Android operating system will be coming to T-Mobile on October 22nd.

The 5.6 ounces, 4.60” x 2.16” x 0.62” handset sports a 3-inch touchscreen, 3-megapixel camera, internet navigation buttons and a full QWERTY keypad. Users can have up to 350 minutes talk-time for WCDMA (3G) or up to 406 minutes for GSM. The T-Mobile G1 is available in three colors, white, brown and black and will be priced at $179 (for a two-year contract).

Here are the features of T-Mobile G1:

• Qualcomm MSM7210A running @ 528 MHz
• 256MB ROM / 192MB RAM
• Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Dual-band (1700/2100Mhz) UMTS/HSDPA (3G)
• 7.2Mbps HSDPA (downstream) and 2Mbps HSUPA (upstream)
• WiFi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
• myFaves-enabled
• GPS capabilities
• 3.2-inch touchscreen display @ 320 x 480 (HVGA) resolution
• Voice recognition, voice dialing and speakerphone
• Full Cut-and-Paste functionality
• 3-megapixel camera with photo-sharing (geo-tagging) capabilities
• Trackball for one-handed navigation
• Chrome Lite Web browser with zoom function that expands any page section by simply tapping on the screen.
• One-click contextual search to instantly find relevant information with a touch of a finger in any application
• Rich HTML email client
• Google Maps
• Music player supports MP3, M4A (iTunes AAC, DRM-free), AMR, WMA, MIDI, WAV, OGG Vorbis
• microSD card slot supports up to 8GB microSD cards

Applications

• ShopSavvy: designed to help people do comparative shopping
• Ecorio: developed to help people keep track of their daily travels and view what their carbon footprint looks like
• BreadCrumbz: enables people to create a step-by-step visual map using photos; customers can create their own routes, share them with friends or with the world
• Pre-installed Amazon MP3 Store.
• Instant messaging application with support for AIM, GTalk, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger
• YouTube video application

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Could it be possible that HTC Dream will run the much-awaited Google Android platform? The HTC Dream has received an approval from FCC and its timing leads credence to HTC and T-Mobile’s announcement that they will be releasing  a new phone based on Google’s Android platform by the end of this year. The HTC Dream will have quad-band GSM/EDGE radios, WCDMA 1700, Bluetooth, three mega-pixel camera, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, trackball and WiFi.

I think its about time that Google’s Android platform be used in new models of mobile phones after almost a year of development. Well, I hope that Google, HTC or T-Mobile will have an official announcement on this and hopefully clear all speculations about the HTC Dream mobile phone.

For the meantime,  like many other phone enthusiasts out there, I want to see some pictures of HTC Dream go online soon.

UPDATE (8/21/08) : T-mobile’s Android HTC Dream mobile phone is set to be released on October 13 for $200 and a 2 year commitment. A very good deal for people who would like to have a nice phone powered by Google’s Android Operating System.

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Google have delayed the launch of the much awaited Gphone because of handset issues. The Gphone or Android as what others are calling it, is  a mobile phone/smartphone powered by an operating system Google has helped design.  It  is initially scheduled for release in the second half of the year, but it is more likely to appear in the fourth quarter.  Since Google has contributed to the operating system, a group of around 30 different partners have collaborated on the development of Android through the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of technology and mobile industry leaders. Meanwhile Google is continuing to woo software developers who, it hopes, will make applications that owners of Android handsets can download from the internet.

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Google released a new version of the software developer kit (SDK) for its Android Mobile Phone Operating System. The new SDK incorporates new features like new user interface, a geocoder that lets developers search for businesses as well as translate an address into a coordinate and vice versa, support for new media codecs, and code that lets developers create layout animations.

However, Google’s lack of updates to the telephony package within Android is a major cause of disappointment to some Android developers.

With all of these updates from Google, Android faces competition from the established mobile operating systems as well as companies that have rallied behind LiMo, the consortium that is developing an open Linux mobile operating system.

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