Today marks an Android first: the launch of the T-Mobile Pulse – the first PAYG Android device on the market.

Priced at under £180 this could be exactly what’s needed for Android to move beyond the luxury smartphone market into more mainstream adoption. Infact, this price puts it cheaper than the popular Nokia 5800 XpressMusic on T-Mobile’s current pay-as-you-go price list.

T-Mobile Pulse (image from techcrunch.com)

Using the same processor as the HTC Hero (a Qualcomm MSM7200A for those that like detail) it’s not obvious that many corners have been cut; although the case design isn’t up there with the Hero, and certainly reminds me a little of an old HTC Touch Winmo handset.

Screenwise, the resolution is standard Android at 320×480, although physically its reported to be a little larger that the Hero at 3.5″, making it about the same as the iPhone. See here on why having a physically larger screen could be a good thing for Android usability.

This is great news for mobile consumers, and great news for us at bemoko – we’re huge fans of internet-centric devices with capable browsers. And the more people that use devices like this, the more opportunities this gives us as mobile web designers.