Android’s here, time to Google

It’s not the interface or sleek design that is the point here, the Internet-savvy software is the cellphone’s best drawcard by far

THE first mobile phone powered by Google was launched last month, ready to do battle with Apple’s iPhone for the top spot on many Christmas gift lists.

The long-awaited smart phone, the T-Mobile G1, which was unveiled at a press conference in New York, will go on sale in the US this month and is expected to hit British stores by early November. South Africans might have to wait a while longer as operators have not yet announced plans for a local version.

The New York event, featuring the whooping and cheering more often associated with the unveiling of new Apple products, revealed the first handset to run on “Android”, Google’s new software for mobile phones.

The arrival of Android signals the opening round of the battle between Google and its rivals, such as Nokia and Apple, to create software for the next generation of mobile phones.

However, upon being granted a first glance at the new device, The Times found that the phone did not seem to offer a ground-breaking feature to rival the “wow” factor of the iPhone’s touchscreen. Instead, the G1 happily adopts the best features of the iPhone and BlackBerry, two of the best smartphones on the market.

It has an easy-to-navigate and intuitive touch screen like an iPhone. But, like the BlackBerry, it also has a qwerty keyboard, which slides out and a track ball that helps you navigate around the screen.

The Internet giant emphasises that the phone is not a Google phone per se as it is manufactured by HTC, a Taiwanese manufacturer, and will be offered exclusively by T- Mobile in Britain. But it seems the product will be sold on the back of Google’s street cred. Instead of the manufacturer’s name on the back, it reads “with Google”. As a result, it is Google’s brand and reputation that will be enhanced, or dented, by this phone. Continued...

This is great news!Competition from among these giant companies will enable prices of mobile phones to be lower.Thus, more people can afford to buy new versions of these phones.