Android to draw 4% of U.S. smartphone market before end of 2008 |
 |
By Ed Hardy, Brighthand.com Editor
22 Sep 2008 | Brighthand.com |
|
|
This article originally appeared on Brighthand.com.
Highly anticipated, the first smartphone sporting Google's mobile OS Android is not expected to be released for another couple of months, yet market research already indicates it will achieve a strong U.S. presence before the end of the year.
The first Android model hasn't even been announced yet, but a market research firm already predicts that Google's upcoming operating system will power 4% of the smartphones shipped in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of this year.
Strategy Analytics estimates that 10.5 million smartphones will be sold in the U.S. in the October-December period, with Android-based models totaling 400,000.
"Google has the brand power in the USA to make a big impact at launch. The main issue will be operator subsidies. As seen with the iPhone and smart devices in general, retail prices need to be well below $200 to be competitive," said Chris Ambrosio, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics.
According to a recent report, T-Mobile is going to charge $200 for its first Android phone. This device -- codenamed the HTC Dream -- is scheduled to be announced tomorrow.
More about the HTC Dream
HTC has done its best to keep a lid on details of the Dream, but some information has leaked out. According to some reports, T-Mobile will call this device the G1.
Leaked images and video show that it will have a touchscreen that moves to one side to expose a landscape-oriented keyboard.
FCC documents show that this smartphone will support T-Mobile's 3G network. In addition, this model will have Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR.
In addition, the G1 be available in black, white, and brown, and it will include a 3 MPx camera.
At its heart will be Android, a new Linux-based operating system for smartphones being developed by Google and a group of partners. This will be strongly tied to Google online services, and may even by advertiser supported.
|
|
|
|
