SIM / hardware-unlocked Android Dev Phone 1 surfaces for $399

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 5th 2008 at 11:36PM

Oh, snap! Out of seemingly nowhere, Google has revealed the Android Dev Phone 1, a SIM- and hardware-unlocked G1 designed to be sold exclusively to hard working developers. The handset ships with a system image that's fully compatible with Android 1.0, and obviously, it complies with any SIM card and can "flash custom Android builds that will work with the unlocked bootloader." In other words, the mobile should seriously appeal to devs who live far, far away from areas blanketed with T-Mobile coverage. In order to get one, you must first register as an Android developer on the Android Market site (which involves a one-time $25 setup fee); once you're in, you simply surf over and nail the "Purchase" link. For $399 (including free shipping in the US of A), this swanky G1 -- custom back and all -- can be yours, and it's scheduled to ship in 18 international markets soon. Would it be too much to yell "snap!" again?

[Thanks, Ryan]

Gallery: SIM / hardware-unlocked Android Dev Phone 1 surfaces for $399

Filed under: Handsets, HTC, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, Android

Tags: android, Android Dev Phone 1, android market, AndroidDevPhone1, AndroidMarket, breaking news, BreakingNews, developer, dream, g1, google, htc, unlock, unlocked

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Jack @ Dec 6th 2008 12:14AM

Will this have international quad band 3G support or just T-Mo friendly 1700/2100 MHz?

Neutral

Jon @ Dec 6th 2008 2:31AM

yeh i dont understand the big deal if its unlocked. it only has tombile's funky 3g bands so it doesnt help anyone all that much

Neutral

youngcalihottie @ Dec 6th 2008 2:48AM

would be awesome... ...if only it had 3g 850/1900

Highest Ranked

Juls @ Dec 6th 2008 11:26AM

according to HTC's specs on the original G1 it is quad band:

HSPA/WCDMA:
Europe: 2100 MHz
US:1700/2100 MHz
Up to 7.2 Mbps down-link (HSDPA) and 2 Mbps up-link (HSUPA) speeds

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Highest Ranked

Sameer Surampalli @ Dec 6th 2008 1:43PM

Yeah, it's quad-band, but it doesn't support 3G on ATT's bands. This only supports the US 3G for T-Mobile (1700MHz/2100MHz) and the Europe 3G band (2100MHz).

Neutral

squiggleslash @ Dec 7th 2008 10:26AM

AT&T has that spectrum too, and pretty much everyone expects them to roll out UMTS in those bands too. Like T-Mobile they've been waiting for the current users to move away from those bands.

Neutral

Jamar @ Dec 9th 2008 12:44AM

@Squiggleslash- not likely that AT&T will move away, not from 850 3G, at least. NTT DoCoMo put big money into helping AT&T build 850MHz networks to allow its users to do 3G roaming in the US.

Neutral

Andrew Clunis @ Dec 6th 2008 9:45PM

Yikes, $264.49 to ship to Canada?! I tried both Quebec and Ontario.

Highest Ranked

mattbates @ Dec 6th 2008 11:11PM

"In other words, the mobile should seriously appeal to devs who live far, far away from areas blanketed with T-Mobile coverage."

Which also includes the vast majority of the US. And even their "blanketed" areas have lots of holes. More like afghaned.

Neutral

Maciek @ Dec 6th 2008 11:53PM

Julus,

Check out my article on www.symbiosis60.com or www.techti.me about G1's frequencies.

Neutral

chris17792 @ Dec 7th 2008 10:44AM

I'm not going to lie....I just ordered one.

Neutral

franck @ Dec 11th 2008 3:25PM

Hi! I've got just a question, I live in Switzerland and I'd like to know if the HTC G1 can work with my sim card or not ??

Lowest Ranked

pauleece @ Dec 18th 2008 5:03PM

usually the swiss are smart people.............. i guess u are the exeption

the TITLE of the articles reads "SIM/ hardware UNLOCKED .... "

please don't have children.

Neutral

rdza @ Dec 18th 2008 9:30PM

Wow, this is seriously awesome.
Now the problem becomes one of contracts and connections.
Since as already pointed out the AT&T 3G 850 band isn't supported, this still leaves Tmobile as the primary US carrier choice to use with this.
So - then 2 problems remain -
1) how to use a Tmobile 3g data and voice plan without a contract, as in just get a prepaid sim; I know they have prepaid plans, but they seem to be hidden from view for the most part on their site, + they seem to be on a separate (as in none) roaming agreement, and definitely no international roaming
2) how to transfer an existing number on another carrier to a tmobile prepaid sim (and also how to potentially get it back x number of months from now when AT&T rolls out 2100Mhz 3G)

Neutral

steel36 @ Feb 18th 2009 11:30AM

CDMA version please.

Neutral

dishbreak @ Feb 24th 2009 5:45PM

Uh...no. CDMA is a dying standard, with LTE coming very soon. Verizon is one of the big reasons CDMA is still alive, and they're switching to LTE. Besides, the phone's mainly meant for Developer use. If developers with CDMA really want to, they can run the G1 over wifi.