Report: T-Mobile's Google phone to sell for $199

The Android-powered HTC Dream will sell for the same price as the 8GB iPhone 3G, according to the latest reports. Also: T-Mobile looks to expand its new 3G network before the Dream hits stores.

If the Wall Street Journal is right, it's looking more and more like T-Mobile is taking square aim at the iPhone market with the Dream (a.k.a. the G1)—not only with the $199 sticker price, but also with an "aggressively priced" 3G data plan. Now, AT&T's data plan for the iPhone 3G goes for $30 a month; will T-Mobile undercut that figure? We'll have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile—which launched its 3G data network just a few months ago, far behind the other big U.S. carriers—says it hopes to have 27 markets set with 3G before the year is out.

Online so far: Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio and San Diego. By mid-October (when the Dream starts shipping), a few more markets will get the T-Mobile 3G treatment, including Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Orlando, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco and Seattle, with six others to follow by the end of the year.

Well, that's a start, but consider this: AT&T, which is catching flak from iPhone users for its spotty 3G data coverage, has more than 200 markets covered. So ... if you're thinking about getting the 3G-enabled Dream and you're not in one of the 27 markets listed above, bear in mind that you'll probably have to settle for poky EDGE data access. (Luckily, the Dream comes with Wi-Fi on board as well.)

Also of note: The WSJ reports that T-Mobile will stamp the "Google" brand directly onto the Dream/G1's shell—not exactly SOP for T-Mobile, which has yet to brand any Windows Mobile phones with the "Microsoft" moniker. (Can you blame them?)

In any case, T-Mobile is finally planning on unveiling its Android phone at 10:30 a.m. EST Tuesday in Manhattan; I'll be there, and I'll be filing a hands-on report soon afterward. Stay tuned.

[Image credit: Engadget (taken from a purported video of the HTC Dream)]

Related:
'Android' Cellphone to Showcase Google Brand [WSJ]