Far EasTone to Release Several Android Handsets this Year

With the success of the very first Android-based handset, the T-Mobile G1, Taiwanese mobile phone service provider Far EasTone raised the number of Android smartphones it plans to launch this year. The company plans to launch four new Android handsets before the year ends. The first one is likely to be revealed this coming October.

What’s intriguing about this news is the companies statement that they have been working with a Taiwanese handset manufacturer (not HTC) that could bring Google’s Android OS to another level. Speculations on the identity of the handset maker is still going on. Some said it could be Acer, other said it could be Garmin-Asus, the joint venture between Garmin and Asustek Computer, or Gigabyte Technology and possibly Innocomm Mobile Technology, which showed off an Android smartphone with a 2.8-inch touchscreen earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Far EasTone certainly is getting serious with Google’s Android OS. They have been working on several Android-related projects for several months now, including developing customized software and new mobile services that run on Android with local software developers. Of course, the company is part of the Conexus Mobile Alliance, which includes major service providers from around Asia such as Japan’s largest carrier, NTT DoCoMo.

Far EasTone’s announcement shows how far Android has come over the past year as a potent new software for smartphones. Google’s Android has benefitted from a number of companies joining its Open Handset Alliance and launching or announcing new smartphones for the OS.