There is finally a highly likely official candidate to replace the grand daddy of all Android phones, the G1 (and it’s about time). The G1 has had “successors” but none have been official, until now that the rumored G1 Blaze is AKA as the HTC Vanguard and Vision and based on specs it will be released in September from the leaked T-Mobile device road map from a while back.
Since the G1(HTC Dream) did not have Android 1.5, there was no way for it to lack a physical keyboard and since then the MyTouch 3G (HTC Magic) has there been a lot of devices both high and low end that lack a physical keyboard which is a big deal breaker for many people out, especially since now many G1 owners are no longer under contract or are looking to quench the need for a more updated version of the OS we have all come to know and love. Given that the Droid, Droid 2, and now Samsung Epic 4G are going to have keyboards, they still are not the official replacement for the G1 and with a name, possible name, being the G1 Blaze, it looks like the G1 has now evolved with a similar yet better form factor for the device.
According to rumors the phone is believed to have a 1GHz processor, 3.7 WVGA screen, HTC Sense, and HSPA+ capable, which all fall in line with the leaked road map from T-Mobile for a September launch of a new HTC phone and also a tweet from them saying that they will launch the first HSPA+ device in September, the pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into play as the time draws nearer. The T-Mobile branding also makes it highly probable that the device could make it state side, but with no official world yet all of this is pure speculation of trying to make sense of the information floating around.
This device has seen a couple of other names as well (HTC Vision/Vanguard), a source reported to Engadget that it could carry the name of G1 Blaze, which would also be around the two year birthday of Android which made it’s debut on the now archaic G1 which is still alive and kicking thanks to the devoted and amazing Android Community. And with such an overhaul in many areas, Blaze is an appropriate name and with a keyboard it seems like now users can have a high end Android device without sacrificing the personal preference of a physical keyboard. With the MyTouch Slide having a big hit due to the keyboard, it is highly likely that the device will also have a very satisfying keyboard for users.
Shame that this isn’t the rumored Project Emerald that should debut around December, more or less, so it will not be running Android 3 (as speculated for Project Emerald) but more than likely it will be running Android 2.2. The phone will also probably have an 8MP camera, a microSD card expansion (of course), and as well as Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth (hopefully 3.0).
Nothing more is known about the device yet, but I’m sure that it will make a lot of early adopters and fans of the G1 happy to see that a device such as this is in the works and could be coming state side. But as with most rumors, we all have to wait and see and as a G1 owner as well, I’m thrilled that a device like this is finally one big step closer to being in the palm of other users hands.