T-Mobile G1 Pre-orders sold hit 1.5 million!

We’re still 9 days out before the first Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Android phone hits the streets and T-Mobile has already sold 1.5 million G1s in pre-orders, The Motley Fool reports. The carrier is also preparing to have another couple million G1s available at retail stores beginning Oct. 22. The G1 has rapidly become a phenomenon, particularly for a device using an unproven operating system and hardware seen by only a few people. Yet the approach taken by T-Mobile and Google has brought in 1.5 million sales before the device is even readily available. Following this feat, pre-sales might become more the norm throughout the industry for these heavily sought after cellphones. It’s a stark difference from how Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) handled its pair of iPhone launch cycles. While Apple revved up consumer interest in the iPhone with mass marketing campaigns leading up to the release, Google and T-Mobile appear to be holding back on TV commercials and the like until people can walk into a T-Mobile shop to buy one. But the hype machine has worked in the pairs’ favor regardless. T-Mobile now has an early sales boost from just its existing customer base—pre-sales aren’t open to new customers yet. And Google’s got 1.5 million votes of confidence for its Android OS before it debuts.