For quite a while, conventional wisdom had it that Samsung would introduce a phone running Google's Android OS at the Mobile World Congress trade show this week. Samsung's Kim Titus said that the phone isn't delayed - they never planned to show an Android phone at MWC. It's not their fault if we were all jumping to conclusions, basically.

It seems that Samsung will be the first tier one handset maker to release an Android phone, pipping Motorola, Huawei and Sony Ericsson to the post with a 2Q launch in the US planned.

Fourteen of the world's largest mobile phone and chip makers, including Sony Ericsson, Vodafone and ARM, joined the Open Handset Alliance on Tuesday to support the Android mobile device platform developed by Google Inc.

The i6-Goal has been created by local phonemaker QIGI and mobile software developer TechFaith Wireless Communication Technology. The latter is likely to have a key input into China Mobile’s plans to create its own take on Android, and this could, in turn, enhance the influence of Qualcomm, which has come out as a major supporter of the Google system.

The operator didn't disclose how many devices it has sold, so it's not clear that this is evidence of overwhelming demand for the G1, the first phone to run Google's Android software. The news follows reports last week that some customers trying to preorder a G1 were told there were none left. At the time, T-Mobile said there were still a limited number available.

Telecoms Korea confirms that LG and Samsung are researching Android, but it also says that the soonest we'll see Android handsets from either is the second half of 2009. That puts them nine months behind HTC.

The iPhone may be the only game in town for serious mobile Web developers right now, but that won't last long. Next year, the iPhone will see some serious competition from Google's Android platform. Of course, T-Mobile will start selling the first Android phone, the G1 made by HTC, on October 22. But other cell phone manufacturers are gearing up for a major Android push.

T-Mobile USA plans to begin selling the first smart phone powered by Google new mobile software late next month, according to people familiar with the matter, facing off against Apple's iPhone and Research In Motion's BlackBerry with a device that blends aspects of both. The phone's manufacturer, HTC, forecasts sales that are rosier than analysts' estimates. HTC says it expects to ship 600,000 to 700,000 units of the smart phone, dubbed the Dream, this year, a person close to the situation said Monday.

That's why earlier this year Google kicked off a competition that awards cash prizes to companies creating innovative applications for its Android mobile platform. The search giant has earmarked US$10 million for the Android Developer Challenge, for which it says it has received more than 1,700 submissions from around the world.