T-Mobile introduces carrier billing for Android apps

Wireless carrier T-Mobile strengthened its ties with the Android platform this week, revealing plans to roll out a T-Mobile channel in the Android Market and introduce carrier billing for these apps.

During a presentation at the Open Mobile Summit taking place in San Francisco this week, Cole Brodman, CTO of T-Mobile USA, said that from November 17, Android users would be able to pay for apps downloaded to their device on their monthly bill.

The carrier is also deploying a T-Mobile channel in the Android Market to support this carrier billing functionality.

According to Brodman, around 50 per cent of users of the myTouch 3G, which is the US model sold elsewhere as the HTC Magic, visit the Android Market at least once per day. Moreover, around 80 per cent of myTouch users also browse the web on their devices multiple times per day.

T-Mobile has stepped forward as the operator cheerleader for Android, with four Android-powered devices already in its portfolio – the Motorola CLIQ, Samsung Behold II, HTC myTouch, and the original HTC G1.