The first phone running Google’s Android mobile platform will go on sale in October for $199.
Pictures of the HTC designed device leaked yesterday, and now more details are available. The $199 price will be available from T-Mobile on a contract, with the Google brand to be showcased at the point of sale, according to the Wall Street Journal. Along with the phone, T-Mobile will be offering a data plan that will be “aggressively priced.”
The obvious competitor is the iPhone, with a pricing structure to match, however if successful, RIM may take the biggest hit. The handset offers some advantages over the iPhone, including an actual keyboard, making it immediately appealing to Blackberry users.
The thing it is missing though is beauty; although it’s not a final determining factor when many buy a phone, offering a phone the seems to completely forgo looks in place of functionality will make for an interesting entry in a market accustomed to shiny things.
