Reuters - T-Mobile to offer first Android smartphone

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T-Mobile to offer first Android smartphone

Friday, Aug 15, 2008 8:13AM UTC

(Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom's <DTEGn.DE> T-Mobile USA will be the first carrier to offer a mobile phone based on Google Inc's <GOOG.O> Android software, the New York Times reported, citing people briefed on the company's plans.

The high-end phone, which will be made by the world's top smartphone maker High Tech Computer Corp <2498.TW>, is expected to challenge Apple Inc's <AAPL.O> iPhone as well as other smartphones that run software from Palm Inc <PALM.O>, Research in Motion <RIM.TO> <RIMM.O>, Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> and Nokia Oyj <NOK1V.HE>.

The phone is expected to go on sale in the U.S. before Christmas and perhaps as early as October, the paper said.

Neither Google, nor T-Mobile immediately returned calls seeking comment.

Last November, Google introduced its highly anticipated Android software system for designing mobile phone devices, in a move it promised could help the cellphone industry make the Internet work as smoothly on phones as it does on computers.

(Reporting by Tenzin Pema in Bangalore; Editing by Paul Bolding)