Orange to Add Six Android Phones This Year

Google's Android operating system has seen a lot of fans among mobile phone makers lately, with more than 40 new handsets powered by the platform expected to come to the market this year, and with industry players like Sony Ericsson, Motorola, HTC or Samsung announcing their interest in the matter.

What hasn't been growing too much up until now is the interest cell phone carriers have for Google phones, yet it seems that things are starting to move a little in this area too. We already know that a wider number of carriers have launched the HTC Dream (or G1), and that some of them are now getting ready for the launch of HTC Magic (the second Android handset, or G2), yet these moves are not too conclusive.

According to the latest news on the Web, there are some carriers that are seriously considering Android, and one of them is Orange France. A source from the company, reports Mobinaute, stated that the cell phone operator was intent on adding at least six more Android phones to its offering this year, and that they should come from five different makers, among which we should be able to count Sony Ericsson, Motorola, LG, Samsung and HTC.

It seems that Orange intends to add to its lineup the HTC Hero, the second Android-based mobile phone launched by the carrier, which has already been spotted in the maker's lineup that leaked to the Web back in January. Furthermore, only a few weeks after this launch another HTC Android handset should follow, in a different form factor.

Another interesting fact that the source unveiled was that the highly anticipated Android “Cupcake” update for the HTC Dream was expected to indeed become available for the company's users in late April. At the same time, there will also be another important Android update that is slated for release a month afterwards.

Another thing the Orange source said was that the carrier intended to promote the revenue sharing model of Android Marketplace. Many of you might already know that 70 percent of the price of any Android app available on the Android Market goes to the developer, while the rest of 30 percent goes to Google and the mobile operator.