"Googlephone" Isn't a Model, It's a Class

Last fall, T-Mobile became the first wireless provider to offer a handset based on Google's Android platform: the T-Mobile G1. And the world rejoiced. Now, some six months after that debut, Samsung has jumped in the game with its own Android offering.

The new handset is only the third Android-based model to come to market, following HTC's Dream — the G1 — and HTC's recently-released follow-up, the Sapphire. Designated the I7500, the phone bears 8GB of memory, a touch screen measuring 3.2", and houses a 5-megapixel camera, all in a casing less than 12mm thick. It is able to utilize mobile broadband both through WiFi and HSPA. Pricing has yet to be revealed, though Samsung has announced it will go on sale in Europe beginning this June, without hinting at when a U.S. or worldwide debut might be planned.

Samsung's announcement comes on the heels of the revelation that T-Mobile has sold over a million G1 handsets in the six months since the phone entered the market. T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom released the figure in its earnings statement early last week — the figure represents only those phones sold by T-Mobile USA, that is, phones sold in the United States.