'Google phone' released (+pics)

Reuters

IPHONE-ESQUE: The T-Mobile G1, the US version of the first mobile to run Google's Android operating system.

SLIDER: The T-Mobile G1 running Google's Android operating system. Its manufacturer HTC makes Telecom's Titan in New Zealand.

BLACK OR WHITE: The T-Mobile G1 phone is available in the US in two minimalist colours.

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T-Mobile has rolled out Google's answer to the iPhone as the web search giant makes its biggest stab yet at leaping from consumers' computers into their pockets with a device cheaper than rival Apple offers.

The G1 phone, made by HTC, has a touch-sensitive screen, a computer-like keyboard, Wi-Fi connections and uses Google's new Android operating system.

Available in three colors – black, white and brown – it includes familiar Google services, such as Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube. Like the iPhone and a handful of other "smartphones" – including Research In Motion's BlackBerry – the device is meant to broaden the appeal of playing games, enjoying music and web surfing while on the go.

Google is well ahead of rivals Yahoo and Microsoft in web search on computers and hopes to use Android to maintain its dominance in search related ad sales as cell phone web use gains prominence. So far, no clear winner has emerged in the mobile web race, which also includes Nokia and Microsoft.

Analysts see as many as 400,000 G1 sales in the United States this year, which a T-Mobile executive said was "not incredible."

"If we see more mobile web usage we'll be happy," Google co-founder Sergey Brin said, suggesting his company, a powerhouse in web advertising, would benefit as more consumers spend time on the internet.

When it becomes available to consumers on October 22, the G1 will sell for about US$179 (NZ$257) – slightly cheaper than the entry-level price of US$199 for Apple's iPhone – with a two-year contract.

The G1 will be launched by T-Mobile's UK unit in November and in the other European countries in which it operates in during the first quarter of 2009.

"The G1 doesn't threaten Apple now, but Android has raised the bar for competing mobile platforms. The bigger concern here is for Microsoft and Nokia if Google can win over the hearts and minds of operators and developers," said Geoff Blaber, an analyst with British firm CCS Insight.

NEXT GOOGLE PHONE MAY CHANGE

Both Google and Apple are wooing developers to create applications for their devices, but unlike Apple, which keeps a tight grip on the iPhone's hardware and operating software, Google's Android is open to outside developers.

Asked whether the interface of future Google phones would look anything like the current one, Andy Rubin, who oversaw the development of Android at Google, said: "It's completely replaceable."

The new phone will feature Android Market, where customers can find and download applications to expand and personalize their phones.

"Because the platform is open, we think Android is somewhat future proof," said Rubin, Google director of mobile platforms, speaking at the launch.

A similar strategy helped increase the buzz around Apple's second-generation iPhone, which can support more than 3,000 applications available online.

Amazon.com said its digital music store will be loaded on the G1, allowing users to search, download, buy and play more than six million songs, pitting the device directly against the iPhone.

In addition to the iPhone, Android will compete with Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system and Symbian software, in which Nokia owns a stake.

Microsoft has been solidly gaining ground with its operating system for advanced cell phones, some of which are also made by HTC.

Nokia offers mobile web services through Symbian, the leading mobile operating system for smart phones, with around 60 per cent of the market. Nokia accounts for 40 per cent of the global mobile device market.

"The entry of Apple and Google – in fact today in a very concrete way – in mobile communications is the best possible illustration of the fact that there's a lot of possibility here," said Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, speaking at an executives' conference in Chicago on Tuesday. "If you look at the competitive situation. . . I think we come to this market from a position of strength in wireless."

- Reuters