Other Google Android Phones

After the T-Mobile G1 - Other Google Android Phones are on the horizon.
Well, now the T-Mobile G1 has been launched, and now we’ve seen the queues forming to grab Google Android, it’s time to take a look at what other mobile phones are going to appear with that robotically-named operating system packed into ‘em.

Motorola

Given yesterday’s post about Motorola’s plans for survival, it should come as no surprise that one of the next Google Android mobile phones is going to be a Motorola. What may sound unusual is exactly what phone we can expect, as Motorola have said it will be a ’social networking smartphone’”.

I’m at a bit of a loss to work out precisely what that means, and I don’t think I’m the only one, although it certainly sound intriguing. We’re used to seeing smartphones, and we’re used to seeing mobile phones with things like direct access to Facebook on them. Hell, we’re used to seeing smartphones with things like that, too. So, what I’m at a bit of a loss to figure out is exactly what more they’ve added on to make this a dedicated ’social networking smartphone’.

Although rumoured specs from the Boy Genius Report include a 3.5 inch screen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, theoretically putting it in high-end smartphone territory, if I’m honest, the words ‘Sidekick Slide’ are treacherously sliding towards my lips, here…

Samsung/LG

So, Motorola are all set to get into the Android game, but who else’ s mobile phones can we expect to see? Well, persistent rumours keep popping up now and again that the two Korean giants, Samsung and LG, are going to be making mobile phones built on Android. However, those rumours are unproven, so until we get firm confirmation from either of the manufacturers, I reckon it’s safe to assume those mobile phones are ‘fictional until proven otherwise’.

Of the big names, it seems only Motorola and HTC are definitely confirmed to be making future Google Android phones.

Hop-on/OpenMoko

No, I’d never heard of them till recently, either. Hop-on’s most well-known product (aside from their cloned mobile phones, one of which looks virtually identical to the Nokia 5310) seems to be that $10 disposable mobile phone over there, to the right, look:-

However, Hop-on now say they plan to storm into the top-end mobile phone market, with their first Google Android phone, due at some point next year. No word on what it’ll be like, or even whether it will happen at all, but Hop-on say it will come in at under $200 (roughly £123) when it’s released, making it the cheapest Google Android phone.

Meanwhile another name that’s hugely unknown in the UK, OpenMoko is alleged to be heading towards building Google Android phones, which does ring true, since their current mobile phones run on Linux, and Android is made essentially from, you guessed it, Linux.

Asus

The last name on the list might be surprising to some, but not to anyone who’s seen any of Asus’s previous mobile phones. Although it’s unlikely you will have done, since they sold them in Asia, not the UK. The name, over here, is far more familiar from their range of netbook-style EeePCs… or, as I tend to call it the EeeeeeeeeeeeeeebygumPC. Well, it’s rumoured their range of mobile phones is going to expand, to include Android. It’s also rumoured that they’ll share a branding with the EeePC.

What, the EeePhone’s on its way, then? Eee1, maybe?

Ooh, no, ePhone, that’d work!

So there we have the state of what we know so far. Other than HTC (responsible for the T-Mobile G1) and Motorola, it seems the list of people officially developing Google Android phones is limited to not very famous names, who’ve realised that you can use Android for free. So, where are the Nokias, where are the Sony Ericssons?

Well, I’ve said it many times before, and I just need to end this post with two words to answer that question:

Symbian and Foundation…

The first ever Google Android phone is available! Grab yourself the T-Mobile G1 today!

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