Sinead Carew, Reuters
Sun
Executives hold the new G1 phone running Google’s Android software in New York September 23, 2008. Photograph by : Reuters/Jacob Silberberg
NEW YORK – T-Mobile USA, a Deutsche Telekom AG unit, will sell the first phone powered by Google Inc’s Android operating system under the brand name T-Mobile G1, said its partner Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday.
The phone, made by Taiwan‘s HTC Corp <2498.TW>, is seen as Google’s answer to Apple Inc’s iPhone and is the Web search leader’s biggest push yet in the cell phone market.
Amazon.com said its digital music store will be loaded on the G1 allowing users to search, download, buy and play over six million songs, pitting the device directly against the iPhone.
The G1 phone has a touch-sensitive screen, a computer-like keyboard, Wi-Fi connections and includes most Google applications and services, including Google Maps with StreetView, Gmail and YouTube.
The new phone will feature Android Market, where customers can find and download applications to expand and personalize their phone.
© Reuters 2008