Reuters reports that Google is in “the final stages” of launching the first phone based on its Android operating system, widely tipped to be the HTC Dream scheduled for launch on September 23 via T-Mobile USA. In an interview, Andy Rubin, Google’s director of mobile platforms, told Reuters that Google is “very happy with the results” of the new phone but admitted that it was crucial that it was well received. “If we come out with a dud, people will go, ‘Well, that was a waste of time,'” Rubin said, adding that Google had deliberately worked with just one handset vendor and one mobile operator for the initial launch. “Google wanted to make sure that we had enough control over the hardware to make sure the software worked,” he said. He also confirmed that – unlike Apple’s App Store – Google would not take a cut from mobile software sold via its Android Market store. “We made a strategic decision not to revenue share with the developers. We will basically pass through any revenue to the carrier or the developer,” Rubin said. Dow Jones Newswires, citing people familiar with the situation, reports that HTC expects to ship 600,000 to 700,000 units of the new phone by year-end. The report notes that this target is significantly higher than analysts’ expectations of 300,000 to 500,000 shipments.

A separate Reuters report cites various analysts and industry insiders who are sceptical Android will be able to make the same impact as Apple’s iPhone. “I’m not sure the consumer experience is significantly better than that of the iPhone,” said Rajeev Chand, a wireless analyst at investment bank Rutberg & Co, who has tried out an early version of Android. “When the iPhone came out the experience was several orders of magnitude better than anything that was out there.” Meanwhile, Frank Meehan, the global general manager for handsets and applications at Hutchison Whampoa, questioned if operators would be able to successfully market the phone. “People forget these things get to customers through the retail channel and marketing,” Meehan said. “We operators struggle with how to market this phone. There’s nothing really unique about it and we can’t say it’s a Google phone.”