More midrange the Tattoo starts less well

Will there be of the "Google phones" under the French Christmas tree Motorola believes. The US group is poised to market in the cybermarchand Rueducommerce the Milestone, his second with Android phone. American Builder, demoted to fifth in the world, relies on the software platform of Google to find a little of its superb. Its engineers have even worked with those of the Internet company to refine the user interface, because Motorola plays roughly with Android.

But it is not the only one. Sony-Ericsson will also unveil an Android phone in a week, the Xperia X 10. Asian manufacturers build, too, on this operating system open and free, that any developer can add new applications every day. The Chinese giant Huawei, whose phones are not yet distributed under his own name in France, to announce the release of his first "smartphone" under Android mid-December. All models that try to exist side by side with the Samsung Spica, which turns on the same platform and which made its appearance in the linear a few days ago. Another Korean, LG, also inaugurated an Android range next to his models under Windows, with 620 GW.

However, the pioneer in this matter is certainly HTC. The Hero to public price of 499 euros, is clearly a high range audience. "It is the best selling of all Android terminals in our shops," notes Grégory Coillot, Director of marketing and purchasing agent for The Phone House. The independent distribution chain sold a little less than 10,000 copies in four months, with a very sophisticated clientele.

More mid-range, the Tattoo starts less well. The Dream and the Magic are sold exclusively with a subscription Orange or SFR. "Aesthetics is not yet up to the iPhone: they are large, not very fast and their touch screen technology is less advanced."

For him, this Christmas will not even really that of the "Google phones": "smartphones" to Apple, the BlackBerry and the tactile very high range of Nokia, the N97 and N97 Mini, should still monopolised the "wish-list" of the holiday season. In HTC, it is rather a phone running the Windows operating system, the HD2, which should achieve better sales.

Not yet large volumes

Same caution on the side of Orange, who will offer five phones Android for the holiday season, including the Motorola Milestone, on a total of 17 phones Internet. "Google will be one-third of our"smartphones": it is a significant exposure in the number of references, but probably not yet in the volume of sales", provides Jean-Michel Culpin, Director mobile marketing of the operator in France. "These Android phones are here for the education of the masses!", he insists. "For us, this platform is a major investment, because its users consume as much data as the holders of iPhones." But it wasn't until the second quarter of 2010 to make volumes.

The operator has certainly found a potential alternative to the Apple iPhone - a phone that must be heavily subsidize to obtain a contract for distribution with the Apple brand. But Jean-Michel Culpin believes that the true start of Android will be linked to the arrival in France of Huawei and ZTE, Chinese who already sell in the hexagon of the telephones in white mark, but remain unknown to the general public. They should break price and receive a particularly sensitive to the mobile Internet, young audience. In the meantime, it is the iPhone which should still pick up implementing this Christmas.