The Wall Street Journal has more on next week's T-Mobile launch of the first phone with the new Google Android OS. The new phone will be made official next Tuesday at a T-Mobile press event, and will be in customer hands in mid-October. According to the Journal, the phone will cost $199 with a two-year contract. More interesting perhaps is the fact that T-Mobile will be revealing new, "aggressively priced" data plans for the phone next week as well.

Given launch will again highlight the fact that T-Mobile's HSDPA network is only live in select cities, the company today issued a press release proclaiming that their HSDPA service will be live in 21 markets by mid-October. Remember, AT&T took significant heat during the 3G iPhone launch for only offering HSDPA in more than two hundred markets. T-Mobile's release today cleanly breaks down who has, and who can soon expect, HSDPA coverage. Cities currently with service:Markets that should have service by mid-October (though we've seen reports that Philly is already live):Markets that will go live by the end of this year:While that's 27 markets with HSDPA by the end of the year, T-Mobile's late 3G start means Google's much anticipated 3G-centric OS is still going to be debuting on the smallest wireless broadband network of the major carriers, something many users are only going to figure out later this fall.

The company claims the slow start wasn't really entirely their fault. After spending $4.2 billion last year to buy 120 1700Mhz licenses from Uncle Sam for UMTS/HSDPA, the company strongly hinted that the government took their sweet time vacating the spectrum. Either way, prepare to welcome your new Android overlords.