Android to get Major Asian Boost?

China Mobile is in line to be the first operator in Asia to sell phones complete with Google's Android software. According to various press reports, the mobile giant which boasts some 410 million customers is set to sign a deal giving it the rights to distribute an Android phone. China Mobile had earlier tried to sign a deal with HTC to get an Android device on the market before the end of this year. The Chinese company, along with NTT DoCoMo and Japanese telecom KDDI, is a member of the Open Handset Alliance, which has made a big push for Android.

In Europe and the US, T-Mobile has unveiled its G1 handset which is scheduled to launch in the US later this month and in Europe by early next year. However, a delay in the development of open mobile systems based applications means that the telecom service provider is likely to postpone the launch of the handset to the second quarter of 2009.

While Android needs acceptance from US carriers to take off, the platform's biggest market could be in Asia, where many more phones are unlocked and users have the choice to switch devices easily. A launch by China Mobile could be just the kind of credibility an Android-based phone needs in the region and may encourage others to follow suit.