Wal*Mart Wednesday will begin selling the T-Mobile G1 smartphone, powered by Google’s Android platform, for only $148.88 with a 2-year contract. That’s less than the $179.99 available directly from T-Mobile with the same commitment. The phones will go on sale at 550 Wal*Mart stores in the US. This according to CNNMoney. The Wal*Mart bump bodes well for Android.

I’m, shocked, SHOCKED I tell you!

Well, OK, no, I’m not even mildly surprised.

According to Register Hardware, Palm is delaying Palm OS II, aka Nova, again. Palm OS II was originally expected on phones in 2007, then delayed until 2008, then late 2008. Now they say it’ll be ‘finished’ by the end of 2008, but we won’t be seeing any handsets using it until the first half of 2008. And, frankly, I wouldn’t place any bets on it. I’ve been a Palm OS user since 1998, but I’m not sure Palm is really relevant as an OS vendor anymore. They make some great Windows Mobile based devices, if I were in the market for WinMob the Treo Pro would be a top contender, but the existing Palm OS is terribly out of date. And now they’re going to be launching a new OS into a market full of WinMob, iPhone, Symbian, and two major Linux platforms - LiMo and Android. As a third Linux platform I don’t know that they’ll be able to garner developer mindshare. I really would rather see Palm take Android and work their magic on it as they’ve done to WinMob.

On the bright side for Palm, one of their major competitors, Windows Mobile, is also facing a delay. CNET reports that Windows Mobile 7 will be delayed from early 2009 to the second half of the year. That could be good news for Palm as WinMob 6 is starting to age and WinMob 7 promises a number of significant improvements. The delay means Palm’s Nova won’t be going directly against WinMob7 - unless it is further delayed, of course. The delay is also good news for Android, which, unless you’ve been under a rock, you’re probably aware launched today with T-Mobile’s G1. We should be seeing more Android phones and the WinMob delay gives Android more time to grab market share.

Picked up via Gizmodo.

I’ve been swamped with work so I haven’t been able to do more than skim most of today’s coverage of the Android launch and read a few of the reports in full. I have mixed feelings. The platform itself looks solid to me, but I think I’ll wait to see some more phones using it. I don’t like the G1’s lack of 3.5mm headphone jack, I can’t believe they left that off after the backlash against other phones. But that’s HTC and not Google or Android. And some of the features I’d need, like Exchange support for work, are being left to 3rd parties. I am 100% sure the hole will be filled, and can actually appreciate that approach - no native app makes the market more attractive to developers - but I’ll have to give it time. Still, I like what I see and think that with a little polish (this is the 1.0 release after all) it will probably be my next phone OS.

This is something I’m personally excited about. I’ve been a Palm OS user since 1998, and I currently use a Treo 680, but I have to admit that Palm OS is getting a bit long in the tooth and it is getting hard to overlook its shortcomings. And Palm’s new Linux-based OS has been repeatedly delayed and now won’t hit devices until 2009 - unless it is delayed again. At this point I haven’t seen anything from Palm to encourage me to wait. Actually, I haven’t seen anything encouraging from Palm in ages, period. At least for my use, the Centro is a nice phone and I do recommend checking it out if you want an entry level smartphone. For the price it is a great smartphone.

On the other hand I’ve been impressed by the previews of Android, and it already has more industry support than Palm OS - before it even releases. I’ve tried Windows Mobile and Symbian S60, but frankly I’d rather stick with even ragged old Palm OS than use either one. Android is the first alternative I’ve seen that has tempted me to switch. More than tempted really, at this point I’m pretty sure I’ll be jumping to Android this year unless something goes drastically wrong with the devices.

So I’m happy to see T-Mobile confirm they will have Android-based phones available in 4Q2008. Personally I use AT&T, but since they’re both GSM odds are any phones available for T-Mobile will also be available for AT&T, or at least in a non-subsidy-locked model that I could use. I want a GSM/HSPA smartphone with a decent touchscreen and a good physical keyboard, like my Treo, but with an OS that isn’t five years out of date like Palm OS or clunky like WinMob and Symbian (IMHO, of course). Yeah, I’ve tried RIM too, I’ve never liked any of the Blackberry designs and find the OS to be kind of clunky too, and I prefer something more open.

It’s been a while since I was eagerly anticipating the release of a new product family, I just hope Android doesn’t disappoint.

Picked up from Engadget.

Palm seems to be using Black Friday to clear out some old stock, since they have just two specials, and both are on old PDA models and not smartphones.

Black Friday Special Offer – $50 off ($149 total) the Tungsten™ E2 handheld plus FREE hard case ($39.95 value). Offer valid 11/20/07 to 11/26/07.

Black Friday Special Offer – $100 off ($199 total) the Palm® T|X handheld plus FREE wireless keyboard ($69 value). Valid 11/20/07 to 11/26/07.

I do have to say that the T|X is a fine handheld, and if I were still using a straight PDA and not a smartphone, that is what I would own. One of my co-workers has one, and I’ve played with it. I think it is the best PDA Palm produced, but it appears to be the end of the line as they shifted focus to the Treo and Centro smarthphones. I’ve always been a fan of Palm, and I’ve used a Palm IIIx, Handspring Visor Deluxe, Sony Clie NZ-90, Palm Treo 650, and now a Palm Treo 680. But I have to say that I’m seriously eager to see what ships next year using the Google Android platform. That may be my next mobile platform.

Aside from the stock-clearing Black Friday specials, Palm also has general holiday specials on handhelds, smartphones, hands-free, stocking stuffers, and special offers.