The gPhone thing seems to have been going forever, but a fuzzy YouTube video that claims to show the HTC "Dream" mobile phone appeared recently, and now The New York Times says it should be out by Christmas -- possibly as early as October.

The phone's release date depends on how soon the Federal Communications Commission certifies that the Google software and the HTC phone meet network standards. Executives at all three companies are hoping to announce the phone in September because they would benefit from holiday season sales. The people briefed on the discussions declined to be named because they were not authorized to discuss the project.

Later, the NYT says:<

Executives for T-Mobile, the nation's No 4 wireless carrier, declined to comment on the new phone except to say it was on track to offer it in the fourth quarter. HTC, which is based in Taiwan, also declined to comment, although executives there have said they expected to deliver their phone by the end of the year.

The New York Times doesn't say this, but it looks like bad news for Microsoft. HTC got to be very big very quickly by building its business on manufacturing PocketPC devices (such as the Compaq iPaq) and Windows Mobile phones, which are sold under a wide range of brand names. If HTC swaps Google Android software for Windows Mobile, Microsoft's share of the smart phone market could fall through the floor.

Of course, HTC isn't the only company shipping Windows Mobile phones. However, it's the main avenue into the mass market, as opposed to targeting the business sector.