Touch G1 coming Q1 ’09? Android will be ready

Hanging out with Android developers yesterday, I learned Google’s hot OS will be ready for a touchscreen only piece of hardware as soon as the first quarter of the new year. The info is confirmed on Android developers’ road map. Apparently, a soft keyboard (one on the screen) was included in the original release but was withdrawn for unknown reasons.

Moving to a touch-only interface without a physical keyboard would be the next logical step for the G1. This touch G1 would likely improve greatly in the looks department and potentially slim up the phone. I’ve questioned what kind of upgrade path Android users might follow, and a touch version might be the one that could coax the masses to move.

In developer speak, Android is slated to have support for IMF (input method framework). This framework will also be supported by suggestions and suggestion algorithms that will be available to developer for applications.

Source [Android]