What do you get if you take a Palm Pre twin, give it the Android OS and throw in an early 90’s color scheme? Well you get the Alcatel OT-980.

First, I have to say, I don’t get a slide-out keyboard on a touchscreen phone. They all feel either too flimsy (like the Pre) or just add awkward weight (like the Motorola Droid).

Beyond the confusingly useless keyboard, this is actually a pretty decent little phone. This slider packs 192MB of RAM, WiFi, 3G and a compass (which seems to be the new “it” feature – compasses are the new WiFi?). This 2.8 inch screen is rumored to run Android 2.1 – making it a “better” phone than most Android phones on the market today.

The OT-980 will be the European company’s first venture into the smartphone realm and they seem to have a good plan – design a quality, consumer-friendly phone and sell it at a low price.

The OT-980 won’t be available for a few more months, but it should find some very interested users when it hits the market.