The good news is that this is today’s Android announcement but the bad news, is . . . well pretty bad. We get information regarding the Android launch and we take a lot of it at face value. We’ve always tried our best to be accurate and sure of our info, corroborate it and this time we’re confident enough. I must emphasize that none of this is 110% concrete and is of course subject to change.

According to sources, the PRESALE launch of the Android device will be to customers in 3G capable areas ONLY. Thats right, the morning of Sept 17th when you wake up and go to order that magical and mystical device, if you aren’t in a 3G area, you might not want to be around anything you can throw. Keep in mind that being in a 3G market, doesn’t mean your area will have 3G coverage as the entire market may not be covered.  For example, being in the Miami market doesn’t guarantee 3G capability right away for the suburbs. As of right now, your home zip code will have to be in an area with 3G coverage to be eligible.  We are NOT sure if this news is specific to the 25 launch cities we’ve discussed previously or to those cities that are already publicly launched. So again, take this with a grain of salt. Just know that we are working tirelessly to confirm this information and hopefully refute it. Right now its the most up to date info regarding the launch.

Update: There is nothing that says non 3G residents won’t be able to order the phone post presale. This news is presale ONLY.

On another note its looking like the pricing scheme for the device is still likely to be tiered with eligible customers only getting the best possible pricing. It was considered at one point that all customers were eligible ala 1st gen iPhone but new information points to otherwise. This morning Androidguys published a pricing scenario and it matches up with the best of our knowledge. We have been working closely with these guys trying to ensure that only the best information flows to you, the readers and we trust in these guys and you should too.

• Invoice Price: $399
• New customer price: $200 + $35 activation fee (2-year agreement, no mail-in rebates to mess with)
• Full discount for upgrades: $200 + $18 standard upgrade fee
• Partial upgrade cost: $350 + $18 standard upgrade fee
• Pre-Sale upgrade for full discount: $150 + $18 UF
• Pre-Sale upgrade for partial discount: $300 + $18 UF

Info courtesy of Androidguys: read the article here.