A famous science-fiction novel's title once asked if androids dream of electric sheep. Today, the answer might be that they dream of an Android phone called Dream.
According to a report in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, T-Mobile USA will begin selling the first Android-based phone, called the HTC Dream, by the end of October. The article, which cites unnamed sources "familiar with the matter," said the phone will come out on schedule, despite some recent reports of problems with Android.
Up to 700,000 Units
The Journal said T-Mobile will ship as many as 600,000 to 700,000 of the HTC-made phones, higher than previous analyst estimates of 300,000 to 500,000.
A formal announcement is expected on Sept. 23, according to the paper, and no pricing information has been released. Google, T-Mobile and HTC declined to comment. Authorization for the device in the U.S. was granted last month by the Federal Communications Commission.
Preliminary reports have indicated this first Android phone will be heavier than Apple's iPhone, to which it has been compared because of its potentially revolutionary position and the excitement it has generated among software developers. Industry observers are predicting the Dream will have a large touchscreen, a full keyboard, and a navigation trackball.
Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said he expects T-Mobile's phone to be the only Android-based product released this year, although other vendors have said they will be releasing devices in 2009.
There has been a lot of speculation about the kinds of applications an Android phone might offer because Google is known for innovation and there has been a heavy emphasis on third-party development. Greengart said a number of the upcoming Android apps will be based on location-sensing.
Media Attention Because of Google
He added that most consumers don't buy a phone because of an operating system, but because of...

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