Information Week reports that Sprint Nextel is not preparing to launch an Android-based phone anytime soon because the Google operating system is currently “not good enough to put the Sprint brand on it,” according to the US mobile operator’s CEO Dan Hesse. The comment dampens ongoing speculation that Sprint Nextel, a member of the Open Handset Alliance, will be the second operator to sell an Android-based handset in the US, after T-Mobile launched the G1 last week. Hesse did not specify what aspects of the Android platform need improving but says the US’s third-largest operator will sell handsets running the open-source operating system “at some time in the future.” The news comes amid UK reports this week claiming that computer security experts have informed Google of a vulnerability affecting the G1’s Web browser. According to a Telegraph report, hackers could have used the security loophole to trick G1 users into visiting a rogue website, which would in turn secretly install keystroke-logging software onto the phone that would enable hackers to remotely monitor what buttons the user pressed and steal identity information.

Last week, handset manufacturer Kyocera reportedly said it will produce a device that uses the Android platform. Motorola, Samsung and LG are also rumoured to be working on Android handsets. According to a Wall Street Journal report today, Sanjay Jha, Motorola’s new handset chief, has decided to focus on Google’s Android operating system as the software platform for Motorola’s showcase phones – whilst using only two other platforms throughout its portfolio – and could detail plans as early as tomorrow when the company reports earnings. Meanwhile, mobile operator Vodacom is reportedly negotiating with HTC, which manufactured the G1, to offer the handset in South Africa. Speculation has also linked China Mobile to a TD-SCDMA based Android phone. T-Mobile UK is scheduled to launch the G1 tomorrow.