The first mobile phone to use Google‘s Android mobile operating software will cost $199, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Wednesday.
The phone, which features a slide-out keypad, is being manufactured by Taiwan’s HTC and will be sold by Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile USA unit, which plans to unveil the device at an event in New York on September 23.
AT&T, the only U.S. operator selling Apple‘s iPhone, set the price of the latest version at $199 in July, setting a benchmark for smartphones that can surf the Web, manage email and other multimedia features.
The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said T-Mobile USA plans to release new data service plans in conjunction with the Google phone that will be "aggressively priced."
Google, HTC and T-Mobile USA declined comment on the pricing for the phone.
