The first Android mobile handset, the T-Mobile G1, was released in the US in October 2008 and in the UK in November 2008. The Open Handset Alliance has further committed to deploying additional handsets and services that support Android early in 2009.
Rather than a mobile OS created for a single hardware implementation, Android is designed to support a large variety of hardware platforms, from touch-screen phones to devices with no screens at all.
Beyond that, with no licensing fees or proprietary software, the cost to handset manufacturers for providing Android-compatible variations of their handsets is comparatively low. It’s hoped that once demand for hardware capable of running popular Android applications reaches a critical mass, more device manufacturers will produce increasingly tailored hardware to meet that demand.