Googles Answer To The IPhone Unveiled

Wed, 24 Sep 2008

Google has released its first mobile phone handset and long-awaited rival to the iPhone, the Google G1.

The smartphone handset from the internet giant launched in the US yesterday and is expected to be released in the UK from early November.

The G1, produced by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, is a touch-screen smartphone equipped with a flip-out QWERTY keyboard, a 3-megapixel camera and a range of multimedia applications such as Google Maps with StreetView, Gmail and YouTube .

In addition to the QWERTY keyboard, the G1 also features a trackball for more precise, one-handed navigation.

The handset operates on the Google Android open source mobile platform, which allows developers to build their own applications for the phone, which G1 owners will be able to download from a dedicated online marketplace.

Jim Hyde, chief executive of T-Mobile UK, Google's exclusive network partner for the G1 in the UK, said: "We increasingly use many different ways to keep in touch - from simple calls and email, to instant messaging and status updates on social networks ."

"The T-Mobile/Gogole G1 is a unique mobile, designed with the new possibilities of online communication in mind."

US consumers will be the first to get their hands on the mobile phone when it goes on sale next month at a price of $179 (£97).

However, the Google G1 handset will be available in the UK from early November for free on monthly price plans starting at £40 a month, which will include unlimited mobile internet browsing.

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