AT&T and Android, together finally?

As of January 29th, 2010 filings with the FCC show a phone going across the table from the HTC corporation that is compatible with AT&T’s 3g and mobile frequencies. Normally when we see FCC filings stories start rolling quicker than I can type them . . . and more often than not they are correct, especially when the identification number is sooooooo close to the Nexus One, one number off to be exact:  NM8PB99110 for unnamed phone, versus NM8PB99100 for the NEXUS ONE.

So you are probably asking yourself, “What does this mean for me, the Android lover?” well, good citizen this means that instead of laying down a potential amount of over 500 Dollars for a device that will be stuck on EDGE; 3G will be at your fingertips. Google, of course, would and should be looking for new ways to distribute their product . . . and since the whole Wal-mart thing was a bust, and Google has vowed to distribute their phones via the website; it only makes sense to widen the distribution to AT&T (who by the way has been the most wary of the Android OS thus far). Now why AT&T has constantly shied away from the new Operating System remains to be completely confirmed by anyone, the most common responses were that they were wary about not being able to restrict the software to their own specifications, the other is that they didn’t want to drive off Apple too soon; but with the revelation that they have Apple for a while longer with the iPad I’m willing to bet they are more than willing to tread other paths.

Back to the FCC search, keep in mind that the only thing that tips off that it’s a phone is the name HTC on the documents and the Radiation Reports which depict phones places by cartoonish heads. That information right there paints a huge picture of what the phone might be. Since HTC has been a HUGE fan of the Android system from the G1 it stands to reason that it would be submitting an Android phone to the FCC. The frequencies listed (there is a lot of them so I hope you like to read) all match up with AT&T and their frequencies, adding one more piece to the oh so very interesting puzzle at hand. The final puzzle piece is unfortunately the most vague:  per FCC rules HTC has the right to withhold any information not relevant to the public indefinitely so schematics, parts lists, and diagrams are all out of the game. This means the only thing that points to Android or the NEXUS ONE even is the FCC ID, which is so close to the original NEXUS ONE they might as well just print the name in the ID number.

What should we be ready for? First and foremost we should be ready for another phone . . . and from what specs are publicly available, it should be a pretty nice little phone. What should we be wishing for? For me, it’s having AT&T in the Android game . . . for everyone else, it’s most likely a new Android player, and we all know what more competition means; lower prices and better quality items. I smell a whole new 2010, and 2010 smells like silicon.