The HTC Hero (Courtesy HTC)

It hasn’t been a year since Google and HTC unveiled the G1, the first smartphone to use the Android operating system. But back in late 2008, many of us thought that the Android OS would sweep through the smartphone market. We imagined dozens of phones spread across all the major carriers. But that hasn’t happened yet. In fact, in the United States, you can only buy one phone running on the Android system: the trusty G1.

That’s going to change soon. Earlier this month, T-Mobile announced the HTC myTouch. The myTouch (the juvenile delinquent in me snickers every time I type that) is a re-branded phone. Europeans know the phone as the HTC Magic. It lacks the physical keyboard of the G1 but the Android Cupcake update introduced onscreen keyboards. T-Mobile will offer these new phones starting on July 8th.

And that’s not the only Android phone destined for North America. HTC announced that it will introduce a new smartphone called the HTC Hero later this year. It will hit markets in Asia and Europe before making its way to the United States (the North-American version will likely have a different name, just like the Magic). HTC says that the phone will have a new user interface called HTC Sense designed to give users a better experience and that this UI will be found in all HTC phones going forward.

Like the myTouch, the Hero will not have a physical keyboard.  But it will  have an oil-resistent screen. That’ll be a welcome addition — my G1 tends to pick up smudges if I just stare at it too hard. The new iPhone 3G S has a similar feature. And it will have a 3.5 mm headphone jack — something both the Magic/myTouch and G1 lack. HTC says the Hero will come with Flash Player 10 built into the device. There’s no word just yet about carriers — will it go to T-Mobile or will Android finally make an appearance with another carrier in the United States? According to the Wall Street Journal, both T-Mobile and Verizon plan to offer Motorola phones running on the Android platform by the end of 2009. Could this mean that Google will become a power player in the smartphone market?

Learn more about smartphones at HowStuffWorks.com:

How Smartphones Work
How the Google Phone Works
How the iPhone Works