Samsung's first Google Android-based handset, the i7500, moved one step closer to release after being approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The Samsung i7500 has a 3.2-inch AMOLED touch screen, Google Android OS, 5.0 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, and 8GB internal memory with a miroSDHC card slot for up to 32GB storage. The South Korean manufacturer first announced the i7500 last month but no additional features for the phone have been announced in the FCC report.
The i7500 is a T-Mobile exclusive phone that has quadband GSM/EDGE/HSDPA 7.2Mbps made specifically for the T-Mobile 3G network. An exact release date for the i7500 hasn't been announced, but now that it has been cleared by the FCC, expect it to be available in the United States relatively soon. Pricing details should be released by Samsung in the near future.
The phone looks like a solid first offering as more manufacturers continue to dabble with Android. T-Mobile, although falling behind AT&T and Verizon Wireless in total subscribers, has experimented with Android-based smartphones with good success.
Google hopes to see its OS make a transition from the phone market to netbooks and other devices, with manufacturers interested to see how it works on the netbook. If all goes well among the first handful of manufacturers, it's likely more netbook manufactuers will use the OS as an alternative to Microsoft Windows XP.
