HTC Developing iPhone-like Google Phone

March 20, 2008 11:22 a.m. EST

Mountain View, CA (AHN) - Handset maker High Tech Computer (HTC) is developing a phone using Google's Android platform set for release sometime in 2008, reports said Thursday. The phone, named the "Dream," will include many iPhone-like touches, including a touch-screen interface and keyboard.

The phone measures 5-in. long by 3-in. wide. A QWERTY keyboard appears from under the screen. Although HTC was one of the first companies to announce plans for an Android-base handset, rival Samsung and others have recently stepped up work on a competing phone, according to ComputerWorld.

The phone, which appeared in a BBC video, has been undergoing tests at Google. The "Dream" is the first advanced phone design that employs the Google tools aimed at creating phones. The open-source tools includes an operating system that could be used to build Internet-ready phones which rival Microsoft's Windows Mobile.