CONFIRMED: T-Mobile launching the Android-powered T-Mobile G1 in the UK this November
Google, HTC and T-Mobile have all just pulled the covers off the T-Mobile G1 – the official name of the long-awaited “Google Phone.”
The handset features the “Android Market” – its equivalent to Apple’s App Store – and it does indeed use the Amazon MP3 shopping service as rumoured this very morning. As for release dates – the US gets it on October 22, the UK gets it in “early November,” while the rest of Europe must wait until early 2009.
An on-demand video of Google and T-Mobile’s New York announcement is available here – you might want to save a copy for future generations. A very nice official shot of the G1 with its QWERTY keyboard out and the UK contract details can be found after the break…
T-Mobile says the quad-band G1 will be available free on some contracts, should you be willing to pay a minimum of £40 a month – and that’ll include unlimited bandwidth for web browsing. Here it is in flopped-out configuration…
On the hardware side there’s an accelerometer for motion controls (and hastily-ported iPhone apps), a 3megapixel camera, a “search button” for instantly pulling up results, and the browser isn’t Google Chrome – although it is based on the same WebKit system that powers Chrome.
If you are currently ON FIRE WITH DESIRE and need one ASAP, American pre-orders are open now to existing T-Mobile customers for a price of $179 – plus a contract based around a $25 limited data option or unlimited $35 angle. The phone will launch out there on October 22. T-Mobile says it will be locked to T-Mobile, unsurprisingly.
(Via T-Mobile)
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