An Internet tablet might also surface

Apr 6, 2009 13:02 GMT  ·  By

T-Mobile, the wireless carrier that brought to the market the first Google Android-powered mobile phone, seems to be determined to bring forth a series of other devices that would be based on said platform. Among these, we should be able to spot a home phone that is set for release early next year, as well as a tablet computer, also powered by the Google OS.

According to New York Times, the company's plans have been unveiled through a series of confidential documents that leaked from one of the company's partners. The aforementioned home phone is meant to be plugged into a docking station, while there could be another device meant to perform data synchronization and recharge the phone's battery.

It seems that Peter Dobrow, a spokesman with T-Mobile, refused to say anything about future products of the company or about the specifications of the devices, yet he did say that the mobile phone operator intended to come to the market with a series of devices that were based on the Android operating system.

As many of you might already know, T-Mobile, the fourth largest wireless operator in the country after AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, was the first carrier to come to the market last year with an Android-based mobile phone, the G1. The OS was able to offer users all the basic functions for mobile phones.

The fact that T-Mobile also intends to use the mobile platform into future devices that would cross the line beyond mobile phones also shows that the mark between computers and smartphones is getting thinner and fuzzier. The tablet device looks just like a small laptop that does not have a keyboard, yet it features a seven-inch touchscreen. Users would be able to check the weather or to manage data across a wider range of devices at home.

“All of the carriers are going to be supporting these mobile Internet devices that range from laptops to smartphones,” said Greg Sterling, an analyst with Opus Research, which monitors the mobile industry.