On Monday, November 5th, Eric Schmidt announced about its new open-source platform Android,, and not the product — the GPhone — like a lot of people anticipated at the conference at the time.

Google will be unveil Android’s user interface sometime next week to the public. However, a number of reports got to see a phone prototype using Android, and this is what Quentin Hardy of Forbes had to say about it:

“It is thin, about 3 inches wide and 5 inches long, and features a touch-sensitive, rectangular screen. Unlike the iPhone, the screen is also time-sensitive: Hold down your finger longer, and the area you’re controlling expands. The bottom end of the handset, near the navigational controls, is slightly beveled so it nestles in the palm. The screen also swivels to one side, revealing a full keyboard beneath. (The screen display changes from a vertical portrait mode to a horizontal display when someone uses the keyboard.)”

In addition, Android is a very flexible platforum and will be compatible phones with small and large screens, QWERTY or non QWERTY, and will be generally less expensive than typical smartphones, such as the BlackBerry and iPhone. This means that manufacturers will be able to offer smartphones for less than $200.

More information about the new Android platform next time.