LAS VEGAS — There’s no stopping the Android army now as AT&T, the telecom carrier that has lagged behind in Android adoption, hops on the bandwagon.
AT&T plans to launch five Android-based devices from a range of handset makers including Dell, HTC and Motorola by first half of 2010. Three of these — the Motorola smartphone, Dell’s first Android smartphone currently available only in China and Brazil, and a new HTC smartphone — will be exclusive to the AT&T network. The company made the announcement at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show.
The move is a big win for the Google-designed open source Android operating system that made its debut in October 2008. Android launched on the HTC-designed T-Mobile G1 phone. Since then, at least 10 Android phones have hit the market including devices from handset makers such as Samsung and LG. Even Google has launched its own Android phone. The Google Nexus One phone designed by HTC arrived Tuesday.
Meanwhile, telecom carriers have rushed to add Android handsets to their network. The four major U.S. carriers — AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint — all have Android phones in their portfolio. Last year, Verizon introduced the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris, both running the Android operating system.
AT&T could be trying to diversify from the iPhone. The carrier has an exclusive deal with Apple for the iPhone but that relationship could end next year, unless Apple chooses to renew it. Offering consumers greater choice in operating systems and handsets could help offset the loss of the iPhone for AT&T.
But diversity of devices is not enough, says Jack Gold, a telecom analyst with consulting firm J. Gold Associates. “AT&T’s problem is their network,” he says. “These new phones don’t hide the fact that its network is sub-par.”
AT&T consumers have become increasingly vociferous in their complaints about problems with connectivity. Last month, Fake Steve Jobs, the immensely popular character created by journalist Dan Lyons, even called for an “Operation Chokehold,” a mob uprising that would try to choke the AT&T network for a few minutes. That attempt failed but it underlined the extent of consumer unhappiness against AT&T.
Having more smartphones in its portfolio could make the network worse, says Gold. “If you are going to have more consumers with these data-intensive phones on the network, you are going to have more complaints too,” he says.
For handset makers like Dell though, AT&T’s support will bring greater visibility. Dell’s Mini 3 smartphone unveiled in November has a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen and evokes the iPhone form factor in its design. Dell initially planned to offer the phone only in emerging markets.
AT&T is also adding Palm’s WebOS support to the bag. It plans to introduce two Palm devices in the first half of the year. Currently, Palm phones, the Pre and Pixi, are available exclusively on Sprint, though Palm is expected to make an announcement this week about bringing the devices to the Verizon network.
Photo of HTC Dream Android phone: Kenn Wilson/Flickr
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That was a quick turnaround, wasn’t it? Palm wasted no time in retailing 3D games that are as visually engaging as the best the iPhone has to offer just as soon as it made the big announcement back at CES, and now it’s taking things to the next level by heading out to GDC in San Francisco this March. The Game Developers Conference is — as gaming goes, anyway — what you’d call a Big Deal, so the fact that Palm is leading a session there to educate interested parties in its Plug-in Development Kit is a promising sign that these guys are taking the concept of webOS as an entertainment platform very, very seriously. Of course, it would’ve been nice to see this kind of drive about a year ago — but better late than never.
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