Now that the first Google Android mobile operating system based phone, T-Mobile G1, is ready for an October release in the U.S., it is time to think about when the device will be available in Asia, which has the largest telecom markets in the world .
Reports suggest that China Mobile may be working hard to bring the device out first in Asia. China Mobile had earlier planned to offer an Android-based phone to be developed by HTC at the end of the year, says Digitimes.
China Mobile, NTT DoCoMo and Japanese telecom company KDDI are the three members of the Open Handset Alliance which supports Android.
But a delay in the development of open mobile systems based applications means that the telecom service provider is likely to postpone the launch of the handset to the second quarter of 2009.
While Android needs acceptance from U.S. telecom carriers to take off, the platform's biggest market could be in Asia, especially in countries like India where phones are unlocked and users have the choice to switch devices easily.
But with no sign of carrier support in India or Korea, it is clear that service providers in those countries are adopting a wait-and-watch stance.
A launch by China Mobile would be just the kind of credibility an Android-based phone needs in the region and could spur other service providers to hop on to the Google bandwagon.
Photo: Jonathan Snyder/Wired.com
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