The market for such Str Trek devices is shaping up nicely. We already have digital photo frames, voip continues to make great inroads and of course there are enough rumours around Android netbooks to fill a soccer statium. Such a move to consolidate these is pretty much inevitable, and T-Mobile knows communication is the key common factor uniting them all, so wants to position itself at the heart of the home hub by getting in on the action early.

Googles vision of a device-spanning OS becomes clearer with such devices too. The years of bugfixing and optimisation which have gone into Linux provide the stable foundation Android is built on, and the modern touch-screen interface gives it the user-friendliness and power needed to survive in todays ultra-competitive marketplace.

T-Mobile have announced nothing concrete, but the concept is the same as the OpenFrame Touch Screen Home Smart Phone from OpenPeak, shown here.

The change in direction is more fundamental than merely launching a few new products: T-Mobile does not have a landline operation.

The new home devices sport full internet connectivity, naturally.