Amol Sharma at The Wall Street Journal published an analysis of T-Mobile‘s Android phone strategy and overall plan to differentiate itself from the pack of massive American cell-phone companies.

[...] It is likely that T-Mobile will be the first U.S. carrier to bring a Google-powered cellphone to market. The two sides have been working together for several months to develop the specifications for a new device, which would be powered by the Google-backed Android open operating platform. The companies have declined to name the manufacturer of the phone, but most people in the industry suspect it is Taiwan’s HTC Corp. The effort puts T-Mobile ahead of Sprint Nextel Corp., the only other U.S. carrier among the 33 partners Google announced last week in its push for open operating platforms for cellphones.

[...]

As the discussions ramp up, the wireless carrier faces some challenges. It must ensure that the openness of the Android platform doesn’t compromise customers’ privacy or make their phones more susceptible to hacking and viruses. Android will make it possible for independent developers to create a range of new applications using information they normally don’t have access to, including a user’s geographic location and communications history. T-Mobile says it will screen third-party applications to protect customers’ security and privacy. [...] (Emphasis mine. -Alex)

If you remember, T-Mobile is a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance (the governing body for Android). It’s disappointing that T-Mobile will be “protecting” customers by screening third-party applications. The robust home-brew apps for Android are important for many of people, especially those who would buy one of the initial offerings thanks to T-Mobile. I really wish T-Mobile would reconsider their stance on screening applications, but I’m not optimistic. I’m more hopeful that we’ll be able to flash our GPhones to use whichever Android build we’d like. That would be our heaven.

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