HTC unveiled its latest handset – the HTC Dream, the first Android-powered mobile phone released in Singapore and Australia.

Available through Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) in Singapore and through its wholly-owned subsidiary in Australia, Optus, the HTC Dream combines full touch-screen functionality and a QWERTY keyboard with a mobile Web experience that includes the popular Google products that millions have enjoyed on their desktop, including Google Maps with Street View, Gmail, YouTube and others.

Customers of SingTel will soon be the first in Asia to enjoy this device. The HTC Dream is also the first phone to provide access to Android Market in Australia.

“HTC, Optus and Google share a similar vision for making the mobile internet practical, fun and relevant,” said Anthony Petts, Sales and Marketing Director ANZ, HTC Corporation. “The HTC Dream represents the culmination of this joint collaboration by offering a variety of services, applications and content that introduces an Internet experience that everyone can enjoy. We are honoured to be joining Optus and Google today to announce the launch of the HTC Dream in Australia.”

The HTC Dream delivers an easy-to-use mobile Web and communications experience in one device. Android, Optus and SingTel services have been integrated seamlessly into the phone’s form and function. The HTC Dream’s large display slides open to reveal a QWERTY keyboard. As another option for accessing the device, the HTC Dream comes equipped with a convenient trackball for one-handed navigation.

With one-click search, HTC Dream users can search for relevant information, with the touch of a finger. A full HTML Web browser allows users to see any Web page the way it was designed to be seen, and then easily zoom in to expand any section. With built-in support for 3.5G network as well as Wi-Fi, the HTC Dream can connect to the best available high-speed data connection for surfing the Web and downloading information quickly and effortlessly.

“We’re thrilled to see the mobile ecosystem in the Asia Pacific region embracing the Android platform. The openness that has shaped the Internet and driven innovation is now coming to mobile devices,” said Daniel Alegre, Vice President, Sales and Operations - Asia Pacific, at Google. “The HTC Dream offered through Optus will transform users’ mobile web experiences and provide an open platform for the next wave of exciting applications.”

The HTC Dream features a HTML e-mail client, which seamlessly syncs the e-mail, calendar and contacts from Gmail as well as most other POP3 or IMAP e-mail services. The HTC Dream multi-tasks, so the customes can read a Web page while downloading an e-mail in the background and also combines Instant Messaging support for Google Talk. With access to high-speed Web browsing and a 3.2 megapixel camera with photo-sharing capabilities, the HTC Dream is ideal for balancing a busy lifestyle, whether sharing pictures, checking the latest sports scores or accessing social networking sites and multi-language reading in English, Chinese and Japanese.

The HTC Dream offers access to Android Market, which hosts many popular applications from developers around the world. With a couple of clicks, users can find, download and rate a wide range of innovative software applications — from games to location-based services and on-the-go shopping — to personalise their phone and enhance their mobile lifestyle.

The HTC Dream will be available through Optus from 16 February 2009. In Singapore, pricing and availability details will be announced at a later date.