Mobile giant LG will launch the Google Android-powered LG-GW620 in Europe in the fourth-quarter 2009.
Handset maker LG has announced plans to offer a Google Android-powered mobile
phone-the touch-screen LG-GW620, which boasts a 3-inch full touch-screen and a slide-out
QWERTY keypad. The company positioned the announcement as an indication of its
two-tier strategy of offering mobile customers a choice between open-source
platforms and proprietary platforms such as Windows Mobile.
LG said the handset will be available in the fourth quarter of this year in
select European markets.
In addition to the Android model, LG announced in early September that it will
be introducing a minimum of 13 new smartphones over the next 16 months that
utilize Microsoft's Windows Mobile. The newest release, Version 6.5, was
announced just last week, and three more will be introduced in the next few
weeks.
"The LG-GW620 will appeal to first-time smartphone customers by offering a
new and different kind of user experience," said LG Electronics Mobile
Communications President and CEO Dr. Skott
Ahn. "Our objective is to provide a wide selection of smartphones to satisfy
the diverse preferences of today's consumers. This Android phone is just one of
many smartphone models we plan to introduce worldwide in the years ahead."
LG's announcement comes a mere week after smartphone maker HTC
announced another mobile phone that will be powered by Google's Android
operating system-the
Tattoo, a compact device that allows
user customization. That handset will also only be available to European
customers. The handset integrates Google's mobile services, including Google
Maps, search, Google Mail and Android Market, where users can download
thousands of applications and games. It also comes with a variety of hardware
features, including a 3.2-megapixel auto-focus camera, a 3.5mm stereo headset
jack and expandable microSD memory.
HTC is
reportedly working to release
an update to the company's Touch HD smartphone, currently running on the
Windows Mobile operating system, which instead will be powered by Google's
fledgling Android OS. Earlier this month, technology blog Register Hardware
quoted sources from the company saying it is making the switch for the handset,
for which a release date hasn't yet been set.
The source also said the updated handset will use a faster
628MHz Qualcomm chip and feature a 3.8-inch touch-screen. HTC's
decision may not come as great surprise to some, as the company has launched
previous handsets with Android, including T-Mobile's G1 (the first phone to the
market that used the Android mobile device platform), the Vodafone Magic (unveiled
at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February) and Hero (the first
Android device to support Adobe Flash).
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