Andriod to be unveiled 9/23

T-Mobile has sent out invitations for the official announcement of the first Googlephone, the HTC Dream. The press conference will be held in New York on September 23rd, although the Android-based phone won't hit stores until October (probably October 20th).

From the leaked picture above, it's hard to get an idea of the size of the Dream. Take a look at the video below, shot at a the Google Developers Day in London yesterday, and you'll see the tiny handset -- the branding is covered, but it's obviously the Dream.

We haved mixed feelings about Android. The Dream looks quite excellent, and from a geek's point of view the open nature of the platform is very attractive. But as with the iPod before, the general consumer will go for the prettiness and ease of use. If Google and its Androidal partners don't manage to make a big splash very soon (read: great ad campaign) then we can see the consumer market for smartphones being tied up in the same way as the consumer market for MP3 players.

For business, though, it's a different matter. That slide-out keyboard alone will be enough to sell this to a thousand Crackberry addicts.