Samsung Android in Spring

Samsung will launch its first phones based on Google's Android platform this coming spring within the US, according to statements reportedly made by the Korean company. An official has told local press that Samsung is "accelerating" development of phones based on Android and should have a finished product released within the US during the second calendar quarter of the year, which runs April through June. The goal is to "meet the specific need of local carriers," the electronics maker adds.

What features and which carriers aren't mentioned by Samsung itself, though alleged insiders speaking to the press say devices are due to reach both Sprint and T-Mobile in roughly the same period and are likely to use a full touchscreen, effectively making them rivals to Apple's iPhone.

Samsung has reportedly been in development of an Android phone for about one year and has hired 30 experts to develop the Linux and Java code necessary for the release, which would mark a break from Samsung's previous use of either its own custom OS or Windows Mobile for its smartphones.

If accurate, the launch would both represent the creation of the first Android phone that doesn't require a hardware keyboard as well as the increasing use of the open-source operating system as an alternative for carriers locked out of Apple's offerings.

By Electronista Staff