Google Android G1 Phone Game Changer?

When Apple launched its iconic iPhone expectations of the mobile internet was changed for good. As T-Mobile became the first operator to launch the Google Android-powered G1 phone, business and IT managers must take note. So is the Google phone a game changer or simply another handset in an increasingly crowded market?

More people in the world now have access to a mobile phone than a computer. Driven by widespread availability of high speed wireless networks from WiFi hotspots, growth of city and rural wireless zones, increasing rollout of 3G and other "Mobile Broadband" initiatives, and more user-friendly advanced handsets, the migration of eyeballs away from the TV and Personal Computer to the mobile internet is accelerating.

The G1 phone is the first based on the Google Android mobile platform. Featuring a touch screen, full slide-out keyboard and a host of built-in Google applications, it reflects Google´s intent to dominate the mobile internet and monopolise its huge mobile advertising potential.

The G1 is aimed at consumers more than business users. There is no initial support for Microsoft Exchange, and many web services and applications are yet to be added to the Android platform.

It may not look sophisticated alongside smartphones like the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, Blackberry Bold, or Apples iconic iPhone. But with the mobile internet experience finally beginning to deliver its promise and the mobile phone overtakes the laptop as the device of choice the Google G1 phone could have a profound a longer term impact.