The HTC Lancaster is to be a new Android handset from the makers of the G1 and the HTC Magic. The phone looks to combine the sliding keypad design of the G1 with the more powerful Magic.
The HTC Lancaster is a new handset destined initially for the AT&T network in the US. The phone will be positioned as a “Consumer Social Messaging Device” and may drop the Google branding/integration found in the G1 and Magic models.
The HTC Lancaster looks quite like the Magic when closed, but features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard a little like the G1. This keypad looks like a big improvement on the G1′s, however – it occupies the full width of the device and has bigger, more rounded keys. The closed cover has the usual Android softkeys and dial/hangup buttons. The screen is a little smaller than usual at 2.8 inches but the camera is a respectable 3.0 megapixels.
AT&T have requested that their standard UI should be implemented on the phone, which suggests that they plan to stuff it full on their own apps and services. Not necessarily a bad thing, but maybe disappointing if you have been eyeing the Google-ified look of Android on other networks.
AT&T will have this phone exclusively for six months from the end of August. No word on whether we will see it over here after that.
3 August | £tbc | HTC (via Android Community)
