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Oct. 23, 2008

Finally, the G1 Smartphone went live this morning and software in Google’s Android Market is available for free, lasting for an unspecified limited time, Google officials said.

G1 is the first device running the Google Android operating system, which also as of today is available in open-source code.

Additionally, T-Mobile opened a customer discussion forum, since about 50 percent of G1 pre-orders were from customers who only owned a feature phone, the operator noted.

No other mobile device since the original Apple iPhone has garnered so much attention. Experts believe Android could change the industry because it merges the credibility of a massive software company and the flexibility of Linux.

Apple brings applications and hardware design credibility but is limited by its closed-source approach, while previous Linux efforts only found modest success.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile is continuing to open more 3G regions, although the company behind-the-scenes is engaged in a small battle over spectrum that some believe could lead to signal interference from other systems.

T-Mobile continues to pressure the FCC against M2Z Network's plans on AWS-3 spectrum. This time, it is considering legal action to further escalate matters. T-Mobile is currently the top opponent to the FCC’s increasingly likely plan for auctioning AWS-3 spectrum, and said it still has a few options to use as it hopes for a late-game comeback.

The U.S.’s fourth-largest wireless operator, with support from AT&T, the CTIA and numerous others, maintains that significant signal interference would occur against existing AWS-1 networks if startup M2Z Networks wins the planned auction.

In related news, Texas Instruments also says that it has contributed its Bluetooth and WLAN code to the Android project as well.

Kyocera said it will also make a series of Android phones, with at least one model due in the Spring of 2009. The company will partner with software specialist Wind River.

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Source: Google.