T-Mobile is getting set for a Thanksgiving Day
launch of the first commercial phone to be powered by Android,
Google's mobile operating system, according to sources
familiar with the carrier's plans.
The
phone will lay the early groundwork for Google's Open Handset
Alliance, a 34-member group that backs Google's effort to alter the
software distribution model of the mobile phone business and create
mass market appeal for the still-emerging mobile web. (see Google
Opens Mobile Plans)
While
the phone made by Taiwanese handset maker HTC will have a larger
screen than the iPhone and a full Qwerty sliding keyboard, its design
and appeal will be very similar to the iPhone, according to analyst
Moe Tanabian, but the size of the target market will be different.
Mobile
phone subscribers, particularly in the United States, have been slow
to adopt mobile data applications like the mobile web, and Google has
made no secret of the fact that it believes the market has been
slowed by the tight control exercised by carriers.
“Google
is in the game because it sees immense potential for its many
applications on the mobile web,” said Mr. Tanabian, a principal
with IBB Consulting. “The T-Mobile phone might be discounted based
on the user's opt-in for targeted Google advertising,”
Mr.
Tanabian says that Google's goal is to add advertising revenue as
another revenue stream to boost handset subsidies and make
smartphones more affordable and attractive to a wider subscriber
base, which has been barely touched by the iPhone.
“The
appeal of the smartphone is moving beyond just the elite subscriber
and T-Mobile will launch something similar to the Apple App Store
that will make mobile applications available that attract a mass
market,” he said.
T-Mobile
USA, the fourth largest mobile carrier in the U.S., has been very
active in testing new services, new pricing models, and new business
approaches. Recent reports said the carrier plans to eliminate
pre-installed applications on its phones, and in July the carrier
introduced a $10 per month Internet phone service (see The
Deck Is Dead! and
T-Mobile
At Home With $10 Phone Service).
“T-Mobile
is a good lead-off for Android because it will set the game plan for
the other members of the Open Handset Alliance,” Mr. Tanabian said.
But
an influx of mobile data users could test the capacity of T-Mobile
USA's network.
“T-Mobile
has limited spectrum and there are questions about the maturity of
its 3G network so it will be interesting to see how this all works
out for T-Mobile,” said Joe Nordgaard, director of wireless
consulting firm Spectral Advantage.