We’re only months away from the first Android handsets, but what do we really know? Here’s a summary for those of you interested in a quick status report. Currently there are four handset makers part of the Open Handset Alliance: HTC, Samsung, LG, and Motorola. Mobile operators in the Open Handset Alliance are T-Mobile and Sprint in the US and a couple of others overseas.

The only thing we really know, is that AT&T is interested and that T-Mobile will launch the HTC Dream later this year, probably around the shopping season. LG announced that they’ll start shipping Android phones by late 2008 or early 2009.

Samsung didn’t make any official announcements, but there are plenty of rumours. Samsung will probably release two handsets running on Android: a high end model in September and a cheaper model at the end of the year. This one is rumoured to have a price tag lower than $100. HTC is hoping to be the first on market with an Android handset called ‘Dream’, so if the Samsung rumour is true they have to launch the HTC Dream in or before September. We probably shouldn’t expect too much from Motorola. With a market share in ongoing decline, and no succesfull successor to the Motorla RAZR, they have bigger problems to deal with.

With regard to the types of handsets: we’ve all seen the BlackBerry style devices that were demonstrated during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We also know that there will be handsets with and without a touchscreen, and handsets with a trackball. It shouldn’t take too long before we see the first real handsets: Google VP Andy Rubin said a couple of days ago that Android is “already in its final stages of testing”, and the operators probably know more than they’re wishing to share. And we thought it was the OPEN Handset Alliance.

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