Cellular South said it will be carrying the HTC Merge and this Android handset with a full QWERTY keyboard will be the first to come preloaded with the Amazon Appstore.
You can check out our hands-on video below for a taste of what to expect from the Cellular South HTC Merge: it packs an 800 MHz Qualcomm MSM7X30 processor, 3.8-inch display, full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 5-megapixel camera, WiFi, 3G, GPS, Bluetooth, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync integration and it will launch with Android 2.2 Froyo. It’s not a device that seems to blow us away with specs but it certainly isn’t a slouch.
“We’re excited to add our first Android world phone to Cellular South’s growing suite of Android smart phones and tablets as we continue to build on our promise to deliver the wireless industry’s best Android experience,” said Kevin Hankins, chief operating officer for Cellular South, in a prepared statement. “Coupled with the new Amazon Appstore for Android, the HTC Merge is the perfect device for customers who are looking for a reliable mobile experience with the features and functionality of a smart phone, whether it’s at home or traveling around the world.”
The interesting thing about the Cellular South HTC Merge is that it will come preloaded with the Amazon Appstore. This offers exclusive apps like Angry Birds Rio and you won’t have to jump through hoops to install Amazon Appstore programs like you do with other Android devices on other carriers.
The Amazon Appstore on the Cellular South HTC Merge is nice but I can’t wait for the just-launched cloud service to find its way to Android phones out of the gates. Giving Android a full client for buying and streaming a large collection of music and videos would finally give it the counterbalance to Apple’s iTunes.
The Cellular South HTC Merge will be available next month for an unspecified price but I would hope that the carrier won’t charge more than $150 for a device of this class.
[Via Cellular South]