Lacks as the G1 Series USB port to synchronize with a PC

Quickly renamed "Googlephone" by fans of the famous search engine, the "G1" arrives today in the U.S. market for 179,99 dollars and a commitment of two years with the operator T-Mobile. Unlike the Apple iPhone, it is not a phone actually designed by California-based Internet firm: manufactured by the Taiwanese HTC, it embarks aboard the Android software platform, which was specially designed by Google for mobile Internet.

Even before the awaited G1 launch, observers were already betting on its success. Depending on the specialized site Pulse2, T-Mobile, subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom and the fourth mobile operator in the United States, thus tripled these days his commands of stocks to 1.5 million units. And the Research Strategy Analytics firm provides that G1 sales will reach without problems the 400,000 units here to end of December, or 4 of "smartphones" market in the United States. With a touch screen, a slide-out keyboard and capabilities of 3 G and Wi - Fi connection, the G1 is designed to provide access to the mobile Internet and signed applications Google: the famous search engine and its services of electronic mail (Gmail), videos (YouTube) mapping (Google Maps). The ambition of the Internet giant is clear: extend its supremacy in the market of online to the world of mobile advertising. And if the G1 is seen by analysts as the most significant response to date to the iPhone, Google does not stop there. Its objective is to multiply the agreements with the big names in mobile to its services they embark in their phones. Based on the Android platform, each manufacturer and operator can thus develop its "Googlephone" House. Motorola plans to launch his own in the second quarter of 2009 and rumours on the Samsung project abound. The two manufacturers are members of the Open Handset Alliance, along with HTC and LG Electronics, as well as for large operators such as Telecom Italia, Japanese NTT DoCoMo and China Mobile.

A new toy

So that the G1 should be small. With the risk of a little dissolve the Google brand in the perception of consumers and to prejudice the maintenance of certain criteria of quality, note some analysts... To do as well, even better than Apple with its iPhone, Google development model "open source" (open) of Android to attract all manner of developers and thus offer a host of applications dedicated to the G1 and the other "Googlephone".

In the immediate future, the HTC G1 has raised the enthusiasm generated by the launch of the first iPhone in the United States in June 2007. Found some innovative in terms of design, the newcomer does not have a tactile keyboard, the great trend of the moment. Lacks as the G1 Series USB port to synchronize with a PC. However, to support the comparison with the iPhone, the G1 will allow download of the music in the Amazon cybermarchand, offering 6 million pieces.

After the United States, T-Mobile should launch this new high-tech toy in Britain as early as November 30, and then in the first quarter in the rest of Europe. For the France, SFR seems well placed to sell exclusively the G1 and thus meet Orange who had obtained the iPhone.