China to delay Android launch until 2009

The release of Google's Android open-source software and handsets will start appearing in the fourth quarter of this year, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal, later than expected by many.

Tootoo.com also learned from the WSJ that some handset manufacturers are 'struggling' to get Android on track even for a fourth-quarter launch. Sprint Nextel and China Mobile, the world's largest mobile carrier, reportedly won't be able to put out Android-powered phones until next year. Other carriers, like T-Mobile, claim their Android phones are still on track.

Some developers of mobile applications, on the other hand, have been sidetracked by the announcement of the iPhone 3G, the second-generation version of Apple's ubiquitous handsets. With a lower price point, a developer kit already released and a concrete launch date of 11 July -- not to mention faster Web access and a built-in GPS chip -- the appeal of the new iPhone may have pushed Android to the back burner for some companies.