AT&T launching five Android phones in first half of 2010

AT&T Mobility will launch five smartphones based on Google's Android platform in the first half of this year, including Dell's first Android device, the Mini 3. AT&T also plans to launch Android devices from Motorola and HTC. The announcement, which was made at AT&T's Developer Summit at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, was coupled with the news that the carrier plans to broaden support for virtually all smartphone application stores.

The move by AT&T to push aggressively into the Android arena comes a day after Google unveiled its Nexus One smartphone, made by HTC, which it will sell directly to consumers through a Google-hosted web store. AT&T was the last of the Tier 1 U.S. carriers to formally declare that it would launch Android phones.

In addition to the Dell device--which it has been selling in China through China Mobile and in Brazil through Claro, part of the America Movil network--AT&T said it would launch exclusive Android devices from Motorola and HTC. The Motorola device is likely the one that had been rumored to launch through AT&T, distinguished by its unique form factor. The phone reportedly has a reverse flip Qwerty keyboard, so that when the phone is closed the keyboard is on the back. The other devices are likely to be from HTC.

AT&T did not release any specific pricing or release-date information for the devices.

For more:
- see this release
- see this Engadget post

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