Android This Week: Sprint to Offer the Hero as T-Mobile Offers Pre-Pay in the UK

The Android-based Huawei Pulse was made available via a pre-paid plan in the UK this week and the specs on the forthcoming ARCHOS 5 Internet tablet running the Google OS were accidentally leaked online. And a Hero rode into town.

Sprint will make the HTC Hero — the next-generation Android handset that uses the innovative HTC Sense user interface — available starting Sept. 11. It sports a seven-panel-wide home screen that can be customized with widgets to display a myriad of useful information. HTC has apparently also listened to its customers, dropping the proprietary headset jack used on previous Android models in favor of the standard 3.5 mm jack. This makes the Hero compatible with the huge third-party headset market.

Across the pond, T-Mobile UK announced the availability of the Huawei Pulse handset for £179.99 ($295). What sets this offer apart is the ability to use the Pulse with a pre-paid plan, sans contract. The Android OS is very data-centric, so carriers have been reluctant to offer devices running on it with this type of contract. This is probably just the first such offer in the EU; hopefully we’ll see it or something similar in the U.S.

And while ARCHOS isn’t preparing to launch its Android-based Internet tablet until Sept. 15, this week it was mistakenly listed as being for sale on the B&H web site before being quickly taken down. As typically happens in situations like these, the detailed information was noted prior to its removal, including the fact that it will be offered in both hard-disk and solid-state disk configurations ranging from $294-$420. The ARCHOS 5 is shaping up to be the most innovative implementation of the Android system to date.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era
• The Near-Term Evolution of Social Commerce
• Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The Risks