As more and more mobile phone manufacturers jump aboard Google’s open source Android OS, Android smartphone are becoming less a novelty, and quickly heading towards mainstream as makers adopt the operating system and customise it to their own style.

Samsung and of course Motorola have become the most recent converts to Android, Samsung with their Galaxy and Motorola with the CLIQ and now of course the Droid. However the first to convert was a manufacturer who is now making a big name for themselves by pushing out numerous handsets with Android and that maker is HTC.

So today the guys over at reghardware have given the HTC Tattoo an in-depth review and say that the HTC Tattoo marks a change in position for HTC as the Tattoo is a mid range handset, is their cheapest Android phone yet, and has managed to sacrifice very little in accomplishing it.

The HTC Tattoo breaks away from previous HTC Android phones by dropping the distinctive style that is seen in the HTC Hero and Magic and rather goes with a classic look with a 2.8 inch touch screen that sits above a circular navigation pad.

The Tattoo is a compact handset measuring 106 x 55 x 14mm with a weight of 113 grams and comes in a business grey colour; however HTC does offer the ability to personalise the HTC Tattoo with a range of differing colour and style covers and you can design your own on their website.

Spec wise the HTC Tattoo packs Android OS 1.6 Donut, but sadly not up to Android 2.0 but does feature HTC’s Sense user interface. There is also a 3.2 megapixel camera, which isn’t too stunning, and the Qualcomm 528MHz processor may be a touch lightweight leading to some screen lag. The HTC Tattoo is basically a good Android offering for the asking price of £280 SIM free.