Source details HTC's "Dream" Android phone

Information about HTC's first phone based on Google's Android has slipped out, says a source reportedly familiar with the details. Confirming an earlier nickname, the device will be known as the HTC Dream and will have a large touchscreen but also a QWERTY keypad hidden underneath; accordingly, the phone will be large at five inches long and three inches wide. Just enough controls will sit underneath the screen to offer extra Internet navigation features.

Most other details of the Dream are unavailable, though the device is slated to launch in HTC's predicted late 2008 timeframe. A touchscreen would also give the device the iPhone-like web browsing, Google Maps, and street view features that become possible with Android on a touch display.

The description both recalls an old concept image as well as a prototype spotted in a BBC video, suggesting that the device has been in testing at Google for some time. Earlier prototypes used by Google have so far either depended on a non-touch design or else have had a simpler design than seen until recently.

Filed under: gadgets
Other story tags: Google, htc, Android, Dream