T-Mobile and Google Introduce First Android Phone (G1)

T-Mobile and Google teamed up to bring the first Android-based mobile phone today. The T-Mobile G1 or simple G1 appears to be picking a fight against the popular Apple iPhone. The developers of G1 told the press during an online streaming yesterday that their new smartphone sports an open platform.

The phone sports a few features that are not available in other phones. The G1 will have an Amazon mobile music store preloaded. It has a built in QWERTY keyboard. It is incorporated with numerous online applications such as the Google Maps, Android Market and it is YouTube integrated.

As this is a joint project of T-Mobile and Google, the phone will be locked to T-Mobile. The phone can also read basic MS Office applications like Word and Excel. It can also open PDF files.

The G1 has a screen size of 480 x 320. It has a built-in 3.1MP camera. The battery allows up to 5 hours of continuous talk time. It has 1GB MicroSD card that is upgradeable up to 8GB, GPS and accelerometer. Connectivity will not be a problem since it is Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth ready.

Walt Mossberg a gadget enthusiast noted that the G1 phone is a “versatile device which will offer users a real alternative in the new handheld computing category the iPhone has occupied alone.”

The phone will be made available in October 22. It is tagged at $179 with a 2 year binding contract with T-Mobile.

Source: MacRumors