T-Mobile USA has officially confirmed what unofficially has been the talk of the town--the debut of the first Google Android based mobile phone. The T-Mobile G1 is made by HTC (the device was code named the HTC Dream) and was introduced this morning at a press conference in NYC. While this is the first Android device to be announced there should be many more following. The G1 is a T-Mobile exclusive (both USA and Europe).

Specs and features of the G1 include:
Quad-band GSM / Dual band 3G / EDGE / Wifi
Touch screen with iPhone like dragging
Slide out QWERTY keyboard
3 megapixel camera with auto-focus
Amazon MP3 store app to download DRM-free songs over WiFi
Multi-tasking
IM (Yahoo/MSN/AIM/Google Talk)
Google Maps with street view
HTML email client (POP3 and IMAP) plus contact and calendar syncing for Gmail users
Web browser using WebKit

The G1 will retail for $179 with a 2-year contract when it starts shipping on October 22nd. Current customers can order online and the G1 will be delivered when it's launched. Like the iPhone, the G1's service agreement requires a data plan. Unlimited data with 400 messages runs $25 monthly while unlimited data and unlimited messaging will cost $35 monthly. Since it's a 3G device the phone will only be made available in T-Mobile's current 3G markets. You can use T-Mobile USA's coverage search tool to find out if your area is 3G or not, though the number of markets should be expanding rapidly. The G1 will not be available without a contract or via pre-paid service.

Sprint Nextel has launched the country's first EV-DO Rev A mobile broadband card, the Novatel Wireless S720. While it conforms to the new speedy Rev A technology, don't expect faster speeds quite yet. Sprint doesn't expect to activate its Rev A network until later in the year. However the card will work fine on the Rev 0 network, so buying the S720 today is basically a way to future-proof. Earlier this month Sprint announced an accelerated launch of EV-DO Rev A. Verizon Wireless is also working on an upgrade, but Sprint should be first. 

The card operates on the current Sprint Power Vision Network and will support faster average download and upload speeds (450 -850 kbps and 300 - 400 kbps, respectively) of Sprint's upgraded network when it becomes available. Sprint plans to begin its roll out of EV-DO Revision A during the fourth quarter of 2006 with coverage expected to reach more than 40 million people by year end.

The Novatel S720 card is selling for $249.99 at retail and as low as $99 with a 2-year contract. Sprint has also adjusted service pricing, customers signing a 2-year contract can get unlimited service for $59.99 (no voice plan required).

The US government sponsored Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) auction has ended and raised a total of $13.7 billion. The auction started on August 9th and fell within expected proceeds. There were 161 rounds of bidding and only 35 of the 1,122 licenses received no bids. 

T-Mobile USA came out as the top bidder, winning 102 licenses for a cool $4.2b. Verizon and Sprint kept up strong with $2.8b and $2.4b respectively. The new spectrum should help the wireless companies expand (or in T-Mobile's case, start) 3G networks. However we won't know their exact plans because of an FCC rule that requires the winners to stay mum until the ink dries.

Fledgling mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Helio has announced a data card called the Hybrid. With the Hybrid, Helio becomes the first MVNO to offer a data card. The card itself is based off the Sierra AirCard 580. Despite the name, Helio's Hybrid card only offers EV-DO Rev 0 connectivity. Bundled software allows a seamless connection between WiFi and the data card for Windows notebooks that have built-in WiFi. 

Pricing for unlimited data access with the Hybrid is $85 monthly. The card is provided for free with a 2-year activation. Access to Boingo's 45,000 WiFi hotspots is included in the monthly fee.

Helio is a joint partnership between SK Telecom and Earthlink that began reselling mobile service earlier this year. It was founded with $440 million in venture capital.

T-Mobile USA has finally announced its 3G strategy, well after all of the company's national competitors have launched 3G service. Parent Deutsche Telekom will spend $2.7 billion to build out the network which is thought to be based on UMTS/HSDPA. Work is scheduled to begin in this quarter and finish up in 2009, though with most of the upgrade being complete in 2008. 

The $2.7b figure is on top of the $4.2b T-Mobile spent at the AWS spectrum auction (some of that spectrum will be used in the build out), so the total upgrade cost is quite significant. Executives are hoping to be able to increase subscribers by 50% over the next 9 years and 3G is thought to be a big part of that effort.

Sprint Nextel has launched its EV-DO Rev A network in San Diego, becoming the first US carrier to launch the technology anywhere. The upgrade has gone significantly faster than first thought, it originally wasn't supposed to launch until next year. First generation EV-DO is called Rev 0 and was launched by Sprint last year. Rev A slightly increases the downlink speeds and greatly increases the uplink speeds. Here is the speed breakdown: Revision 0 Revision A
Max download 2Mbps 3.1Mpbs
Avg download 400-700kbps 450-800kbps
Max upload 144kbps 1.8Mbps
Avg upload 70-144kbbs 300-400kbbs


In recent weeks Sprint has launched Rev A compatible data cards which will immediately benefit from the launch (the technology is backwards compatible). Owners of Rev 0 only equipment will have to upgrade before receiving a speed boost. Read on for a list of markets set to go Rev A before the end of the year.

Baltimore
Boston
Buffalo, N.Y.
Denver
Detroit
Hartford, Conn. 
Kansas City, Mo.
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Milwaukee
New York City
Newark/Trenton, N.J.
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Providence, R.I.
Sacramento, Calif
Salt Lake City 
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, D.C.

As expected, Cingular has announced availability of the Samsung BlackJack, a thin QWERTY smartphone set to compete with the Motorola Q and T-Mobile Dash. The BlackJack, also known as the SGH-i607, is a Cingular exclusive and is also one of only a few HSDPA compatible handsets in their lineup. Size wise it's comparable to the Q and Dash, though it's relatively light compared to either. 

Features of the Samsung BlackJack include:
Quad-band GSM plus HSDPA and EDGE data
Just 12mm thick
QVGA display
Windows Mobile 5.0
1.3 megapixel camera
Stereo Bluetooth
microSD card slot

Cingular will begin selling the BlackJack this week for as low as $199 after rebate with a 2-year contract including unlimited data. That matches the price point of the Q and Dash (though their contract requirements are not as expensive). 

More photos of the BlackJack are available below.