T-Mobile G1 Oct. 17, Sprint's Android different?

T-Mobile's G1 announcement should bring the Android smartphone to shops in less than a month, a leak to VentureBeat says. The news would have the touchscreen, 3G device start shipping on October 13th and reach stores in force by October 17th. The schedule would have the device reach stores slightly earlier than a rumored October 20th date and much earlier than some early reports of a November appearance.

Google's Android team, however, is reportedly toning down its expectations of particularly heavy press coverage, though it's not said what if anything would prompt a muted response.

Sprint's known plans to produce an Android phone are also included in the leak but suggest that the device won't simply be a copy of the G1; details are unmentioned but should include "other functionality" than what T-Mobile's device offers. The CDMA carrier's handset is widely known to be scheduled for a launch early next year.

The seeming revelations set the stage for a key competition in the US cellular business, which on the high-end has been increasingly dominated by Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerries.

Filed under: industry, gadgets, mobile phones
Other story tags: Google, T-Mobile, sprint, Android