By Caroline McCarthy
Tuesday, June 24 2008 07:03 AM
URL: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62043023,00.htm

Google's mobile operating system won't be available until late this year, according to a report Monday from The Wall Street Journal.

Phones powered by the Internet giant's Android open source software were expected to be unveiled in the second half of 2008, and the report has narrowed that down somewhat: Those handsets will start appearing in the fourth quarter of this year, a later time frame than expected.

In addition, according to the Journal, some handset manufacturers are "struggling" to get Android on track even for a fourth-quarter launch. Sprint Nextel and China Mobile, the world's largest cell carrier, reportedly will not be able to put out Android-powered phones until next year. Other carriers, such as T-Mobile, claim their Android phones are still on track.

Some developers of mobile applications, on the other hand, have been sidetracked by the announcement of the iPhone 3G, the second-generation version of Apple's ubiquitous handsets.

With a lower price point, a developer kit already released, and a concrete launch date of Jul. 11, not to mention faster Web access and a built-in GPS chip, the appeal of the new iPhone may have pushed Android to the back burner for some companies.

This article was first published as a blog on CNET News.com.