T-Mobile USA to add 2 new Android handset partners in 2009

It seems T-Mobile USA wants to solidify is position as the most Android-friendly U.S. wireless carrier. The operator, which has already sold more than 1 million HTC-made G1 handsets, will have three different Android handset partners in 2009, according to T-Mobile CTO Cole Brodman. "We are looking to launch multiple Android-based devices in the second half of this year with three partners," he told the blog GigOM. Brodman said he expects Android to finds its way into feature phones--not just smartphones. Presumably, T-Mobile will launch another HTC-made Android handset, Samsung's I7500, and another Android handset from a separate vendor, perhaps Huawei. In other Android news, research firm Strategy Analytics said in a release that it expects a 900-percent increase in Android handset shipments in 2009.