AT&T Getting on the Google Bandwagon, Commits to Five Android OS Phones

Following in the footsteps of all its top rivals, AT&T has promised to offer its first smartphones running Google's Android OS. These will be produced by Motorola, Dell, and HTC, and will reach store shelves by the middle of this year.

The company isn't yet willing to reveal all the details on these upcoming models, but it did give some "teaser" information.

Motorola
One of them will be made by Motorola, and will offer "a unique form factor" and MotoBlur, an alternate user interface designed to make Motorola's Android phones easier to use and more consumer friendly.

This is almost certainly the Motorola Backflip, which was officially announced this week and perfectly matches AT&T's description. It will run the Android OS and have an unusual design featuring a flip-around keyboard and a touchpanel behind its HVGA screen.

Dell
AT&T says it is also going to pick up Dell's first smartphone.

This must refer to the Dell Mini 3i, which debuted last year in several countries, most notably China. The FCC approved an more fully featured version in November, dubbed the Mini 3iX . This will have a tablet shape with 3.5-inch, 360-by-640 touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS, and a microSD memory card slot. In addition to Wi-Fi and 3G, it will have Bluetooth.

HTC
AT&T announcement promised an HTC smartphone, but gave no details. HTC makes a variety of models running Google's OS, and has promised to release many more this year, so at this point there no way to know what this device will look like.

All three of these Android-based devices will be exclusive to AT&T in the United States when they are released in the next six months.

This announcement came from AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega, who was speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Source: AT&T