Rampaging Robot

Google released the most anticipated product for their company in the last two years. After many delays, the G1 - the first phone running Google's Android OS - has been released to the public. TMobile is the carrier for the US, selling the G1 starting October 22.

The phone, built by HTC of Taiwan, has had many fake pictures of it floating around for years. Pictures of the phone and the OS had Google's engineers alternating between frustration with the rumored
stories, and laughing fits at the strange Photoshopped creations of the internet rumor mills.

So what does it look like?

Not surprisingly, it looks like a cross between the iPhone and Danger's Sidekick devises. Remember, both Apple and Google raided Danger employees to design both the iPhone and the G1.

The G1 has a white case, a touch screen like the iPhone, and a sliding keyboard like the Sidekick. Now that it has been released, the feature I'm most concerned about is how the keyboard feels. I always liked
the older Sidekick keyboard, but I found the newer ones a little too small for my tastes.

The phone is set to sell for $179 with a monthly $25 unlimited data plan or $35 for unlimited data and text messaging.

Strong points for this phone:

Open source software
Multitasking, one of the most overlooked features on mobile devices. Why wouldn't users want
to run multiple applications at one time?
Smooth integration of popular Google applications.
Extremely low price point for a smart phone.

Potential Issues:
No support of Microsoft Exchange Server Email Solutions may delay corporate adoption, as many of those users rely on Outlook.

Of course, a major issue is will the phone have the star power for a toy du jour. My experience from having worked in IT departments is that for many executives, owning the hottest new gadget is more
important than having one with the best features. Apple's iPhone lead in the market may be insurmountable for Google's much delayed phone