Google On The Go With Android and T-Mobile

Android is Google's Operating System [OS] for mobile devices which launched today coupled with an offering of a smart phone from T-Mobile called the "T-Mobile G1." The hardware is provided by HTC who also delivered Sprint's popular Mogul running Windows Mobile 6. Previously know as the HTC Dream this handheld device combines Web 2.0 services, mobile Internet and a robust Linux based OS along with a growing number of applications.

The T-Mobile G1 has been called an iPhone in a Sidekick body because of its large vibrant graphics and physical similarities to a previous offering from T-Mobile. The display offers large icons make it easy to navigate the touch screen without the use of a stylus. This is particularly noticeable when using the phone screen. Slide the screen up and you expose a Querty keyboard with offset keys similar to the layout of an actual keyboard. It also includes a 3 mega-pixel camera and a microSD memory slot with a 1 GB card included with the qualifying upgrade price of $179.00.

While we haven't had the time with the device to do a thorough comparison with the iPhone or Windows Mobile 6 on the Mogul we do know that the proliferation of new applications of this open-source offering backed by Google is a certainty. We will also have to wait for performance reports of how it performs on T-Mobile's network. What we do know is that future development of the iPhone will be strictly controlled by Apple as is everything they do. Also, that the underlying chipset of the iPhone has been plagued with problems. If you are anxious to get a better graphical user interface than is currently offered by something like the Mogul with Windows Mobile you may want to watch the coming reviews for the G1 than jumping into an iPhone.