• The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, September 16, 2008 11:02 AM

T-Mobile USA plans to begin selling the first smart phone powered by Goggle's new mobile software late next month, according to people familiar with the matter, facing off against Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry with a device that blends aspects of both.

T-Mobile USA will begin selling the first Google-powered smartphones by the end of next month, The Wall Street Journal reports. The phones are being built by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, which expects to ship 600,000 to 700,000 units of the new phone, dubbed the "Dream", by the end of this year. That target far exceeded analysts' estimates of between 300,000 and 500,000.

According to the Journal, T-Mobile USA, which is a unit a Deutsche Telekom AG, will announce the new phone on Sept. 23. As yet, pricing details couldn't be determined. The HTC "Dream" will be the first phone powered by Google's Android mobile operating system. Anticipation about the Google-powered phones has been building for some time now, and the companies face big time pressure to impress. The Dream is expected to borrow elements from Apple's iPhone, like touchscreen technology, and Research in Motion's BlackBerry, like its trackball to help with navigation.

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