Google's answer to iPhone hits shelves

Internet search giant Google yesterday unveiled its first mobile handset to gadget enthusiasts across the UK. The G1 is designed around improving the speed and quality of using the internet on mobile handsets.

Internet search giant Google yesterday unveiled its first mobile handset to gadget enthusiasts across the UK.

The G1 - Google's rival to the iPhone and BlackBerry phones - is designed around improving the speed and quality of using the internet on mobile handsets.

It went head to head with Apple's iPhone, the BlackBerry and other smartphones when it was released exclusively by T-Mobile yesterday. It will be available on price plans from £40 a month.

The gadget uses Google's Android software and is being touted as a phone with the capability of a hand-held computer. It provides access to Android Market, which lets third-party companies offer applications to users.

Other manufacturers - including LG and Samsung - are expected to produce their own Google phones over the next 12 months.

The phone uses Google Maps, Google Talk, high-speed internet browsing and a three-megapixel camera.

Kylie McGregor, senior sales adviser at T-Mobile on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow, said the launch of the new G1 had generated a frenzy in stores.

"The larger stores across Scotland and the rest of the UK have had record sales. The main attraction of the phone is the fact that users can connect to the internet within minutes and browse quickly and uninterrupted," she said.

The phone will be in direct competition with Apple's iPhone in the run-up to the lucrative Christmas period.

Paul Collins sold the first G1 phones to customers in the Sauchiehall Street store.

The sales adviser said the phone is expected to be on the wish list of the majority of the store's Christmas customers. "We expect huge demand," he said. "The G1 has been the most-anticipated phone of the year so far and with features to match both the iPhone and the BlackBerry plus more, its definitely the must-have gadget."

Analysts have said the gadget could potentially transform the mobile telephone market, but some believe the phone may struggle to compete with the iPhone in particular.

Ernest Doku, from mobile phone comparison website Omio.com, said: "Despite the popularity of the Google brand, the G1's design lacks the inherent cool' factor that made the iPhone 3G such a mass market success for Apple.

"The launch of the G1 is important not only because it's Google's first foray into the mobile market but because it's also the launch of an entirely new mobile phone operating system.

"Android is the equivalent of releasing an alternative to Microsoft's Windows - and equally as risky."

Despite the excitement over the launch, reaction to the G1 so far has been mixed. In the US retailers are already starting to slash the G1's price to boost sales.

Leading gadget blog Gizmodo said that it was not the finished article but represented "a good start", while technology review site CNET called it "weird" and said it was "not quite there yet".

T-Mobile UK managing director Jim Hyde said: "It's set to revolutionise the way we use the internet on our mobiles. It's uniquely built for effortless online communication whether you want to email, text or blog, and with access to some ground-breaking applications on Android Market, the possibilities really are endless."

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