Two years before the first commercial release of Android, Google shopped a device to carriers that contained a “basic phone user interface.” The Mountain View-based company approached T-Mobile and called the device a win-win when combined with the carrier’s unlimited data plan. The original designs surfaced during Google’s trial against Oracle over the use of Java in Android, The Verge reported. Additional documents revealed that Google was looking to change T-Mobile’s plan pricing structure, and offer unlimited data for $9.99 a month. To subsidize the reduced cost, the Internet giant would have agreed to not take the commission it might earn from the carrier when it referred Android buyers to its online store. Google’s original plan never became a reality, however, and the first commercial Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, was released with $25 and $35 data plans. A second image outlining additional details follows below.

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We’re not going to travel too far back in time for this week’s installation of Throwback Thursday, but we think our selection is very appropriate. With this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in full gear, we’re seeing an unfathomable number of Android phones and tablets announced by dozens of electronics manufacturers. So here at BGR, we thought it would be appropriate to take a short moment to pay homage to the little handset that started it all. We’re talking about T-Mobile’s G1, also known as the HTC Dream.

Released on October 30, 2008 in the United States by GSM carrier T-Mobile, the G1 was the first smartphone to be marketed with Google’s new Android mobile operating system. The G1 — which retailed for $129.99 on-contract and $399.99 full retail — was a horizontal-sliding, full-QWERTY handset with a unique hinge. The G1 paired its keyboard with a 3.2-inch touchscreen display, 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, micro-SD card slot, and navigation trackball. The handsets Achilles heel was, undoubtedly, the humble 1150mAh battery — which proved to be inadequate for the device’s hardware. In April of 2009, T-Mobile officially announced that that it had sold 1 million G1s.

This week, as you see Android devices of all shapes and sizes announced, take some time to pour one out for the device that started it all… the G1.

BGR’s Throwback Thursday is a weekly series covering our (and your) favorite gadgets, games, and software of yesterday and yesteryear.

We’re not sure this really matters, but…it looks like Verizon Wireless will not be getting the HTC Nexus One after all. If you direct your browser over to Google’s phone purchasing site, you’ll notice a nice little note under the Verizon Nexus One section that reads:

For Verizon’s network, you can buy the Droid Incredible by HTC, a powerful Android phone and similarly feature-packed cousin of the Nexus One.

Previously, the note had suggested the Motorola DROID as an alternative for those fanboys Android lovers that just could not wait, however, when we contacted Google for clarification they gave us this statement on the record:

We won’t be selling a Nexus One with Verizon, and this is a reflection of the amazing innovation happening across the open Android ecosystem. Verizon Wireless customers who want an Android phone with the power of the Nexus One can get the Droid Incredible by HTC, which can be pre-ordered now and which will be available in Verizon Wireless stores on Thursday, April 29th.

We feel the HTC Incredible is an ample, and logical, successor to the N1. Any of you Verizon Wireless, Android junkies have your little hearts dead-set on the Sexy Nexy?

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More Nexus One fodder?  Yes, please. This second pic isn’t a full frontal like the first candid floating around the internet, but we though we would share anyways. Just throwing a little extra gasoline on the Nexus One fire.  Enjoy.

Hardware partners be damned, Google is pursuing world domination and is doing so with its new Google phone. Plastered all over Twitter are enthusiastic tweets from Google employees and their friends expounding the awesomeness of a hot new HTC phone handed out to the them by mothership Google. The full touchscreen handset runs Android 2.1 and is supposedly slightly thinner than the Hero with a sexiness that “rivals the iPhone.” Did we mention it has a Snapdragon processor, high resolution OLED display and dual mics for noise reduction and advanced voice-to-text features? The Google phone will be built by HTC, customized to Google’s specifications and sold unlocked in early 2010 by Google. It has been suggested but not confirmed that the phone will support both T-Mobile and AT&T bands UMTS. According to Google, the phone has been handed out to employees so they can be the guinea pigs, testing out the new and exciting capabilities of this phone. If you’ve got one or have shots of it, you know where to head!

Read [TechCrunch]

Read [Google Blog]

While others are filing this under “certainty” we are still going to have to classify this one as a “class 1 rumor.” Gizmodo is reporting that it has a trusted source, of sound mind and body, proclaiming that Google’s Android operating system will be running on Google developed/branded hardware in the imminent future. The article goes on to say, not only will Google be making its own hardware but it will also be running a version of Android that the world has yet to see. Gasp. The article is pretty light on facts and fairly high on speculation so we’ll let you guys decide how high this one ranks on the certainty meter. While we don’t see a reason that Google would want to royally piss off their hardware partners, we also don’t see them letting much get in their way of world domination.

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Word on the street is that Google recently held a briefing where it discussed the coming of Android, which may be sooner than we thought. Apparently the world is set to get its first taste of Google’s mobile juice on September 17; actually, only T-Mobile US customers will be able to partake. T-Mobile has apparently scored highly-coveted exclusive rights to sell what has been dubbed the HTC G1, the first mobile handset that will ship with the Linux-based Android OS. The rub of course, is that it will only be a T-Mobile exclusive for a week as the G1 will supposedly become available to the rest of the world on September 24. That may seem a bit odd but it’s actually very smart; T-Mobile has essentially placed its name in any and all Android coverage between now and the release. Smooth. Alleged specs for the HTC G1 give it a massive 5″ x 3″ touchscreen display, a 3 megapixel camera, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and 3G connectivity though we can’t say which networks it will be compatible with. The logical guess might be T-Mobile 3G compatibility due to the launch schedule but then again, the carrier hardly has nationwide 3G coverage. T-Mobile might be the only choice however, if the G1 is to have any US 3G compatibility. AT&T has not yet officially signed on to peddle Android-powered devices, nor has Verizon Wireless for that matter. At the same time, we have to imagine it won’t be long before they jump on board. In terms of pricing, there will supposedly be a discounted price of $150 during the first week of availability through T-Mobile. After that, the price is expected to jump up to around $250. T-Mobile has not confirmed any of this but if it is true, expect the advertising to start rolling out very soon.

[Via Wired]

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