Mobile phone manufacturer HTC is believed to be planning an Australian launch of a mobile handset based on Google's Android platform, with Optus and possibly other carriers to support the device.
The HTC Dream
(Credit: T-Mobile)
The plans could be revealed as early as this week, ZDNet.com.au believes, with suggestions of Optus' involvement coming from multiple sources over the past several months.
Speculation about the launch intensified in the industry this afternoon, with HTC issuing an invite to a press event in Sydney this Thursday 5 February, for a "dreamy event not to be missed", in a possible referral to the Android-based Dream handset it has launched internationally.
There are some indications that Vodafone Australia may also be advancing plans to support an Android-based device, although potentially a later model than the Dream. Large parts of HTC's future product roadmap, including successors to the Dream, were reportedly leaked over the past month.
The G1, dubbed the Dream, was released in the US in October last year, but Australian carriers had no plans at the time to offer the in-demand phone. This has officially remained the case.
The news comes several weeks after ZDNet.com.au revealed Optus was getting ready behind the scenes to support the Dream, also known as the G1, with the telco's staff receiving documents detailing how to support the device.
Since the G1 was released in the US, another Android phone has been announced, Kogan Technologies' Agora, which has since been postponed indefinitely.
Why did they make this phone so butt-ugly? I'm really interested in purchasing an Android device, but the looks on this thing turns me right off.