The Samsung Android smartphone spotted earlier this week could reach the market in Q3 2009, according to market sources quoting leaked information from the company.  The phone is described as “similar to the HTC Magic” in design and hardware, which presumably means it will not have a hardware QWERTY keyboard.

As with the HTC Magic, the unnamed Samsung Android smartphone will use a 3.5 Qualcomm chipset.  The Magic is expected to arrive in Q2 in Europe, and HTC have already committed to a further two Android-based devices in 2009.

That’s enough to convince many that HTC will maintain its lead in the Android segment.  Samsung is said to be “among the top-five handset vendors” to release their Android devices in 2009; Motorola is believed to be readying a significant Android range, potentially for launch as soon as Q2.