Next-gen Android phone ready to roll?

HTC and T-Mobile are readying a new version of the G1 Android phone, according to the gadget blog Gizmodo.

On Wednesday, Gizmodo posted pictures of what is supposed to be the new Android 'G2', which the blog says is expected in May. The new device is much thinner than the previous G1 because its slide keyboard is gone. Instead, HTC has taken a page out of the iPhone playbook and will only offer a virtual keypad.

Pictures of the new G2 also show that it will have a 3.2-megapixel camera. The new phone will operate on T-Mobile's network in the US, and the interface will be "very similar" to the G1, according to Gizmodo's sources.

In September, HTC and T-Mobile introduced the first phone to use Google's open-source operating system, known as Android. So far, the G1 remains the only Android phone available on the market. But more phones are expected soon. While none of the big phone manufacturers announced Android devices at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, there will probably be plenty of action next month at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Rumours have already been flying around the blogosphere about which manufacturers will be next with their Android phones. Samsung is supposedly readying an Android phone that will go on sale in the second quarter. Sony Ericsson is also rumoured to be working on an Android phone for this summer. And HTC is said to be working on a whole portfolio of Android devices.