Android G1 Challenges iPhone to a Duel, Has No Sword to Fight It

T-Mobile has recently introduced Google's first Android-running device, the G1, developed by HTC. While the specs are impressive, video demonstrations have shown that the G1 performs a lot slower than Apple's iPhone. And, while some say the Android-running G1 will attract many users with its ability to run cool applications, Apple might have the upper hand again, thanks to the handset's luscious design and the App Store.

We're going to compare the duo's features in detail in a dedicated article, so, for now, we'll focus on what impresses users the most: looks, the web browsing experience, and applications.

The G1 itself is twice as chubby as Apple's iPhone. However, this compromise in size has been made to add a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, sure to attract non-fans of virtual keyboards, a 3-megapixel camera, and more. Some find the iPhone's virtual keyboard impossible to use to write text, so the G1 might look like a better choice for them. The G1 however, is no match for Apple's streamlined iPhone, as far as design goes.

Leaving aside the fact that the user interface seems a lot more clogged than that of Apple's iPhone, a video demonstration of the two devices side by side has shown that the iPhone is a lot snappier when it comes to browsing the web. This was not because of the network connection, but because of the OS itself. Also, one thing that the G1 can't rival is the iPhone's Multi-touch. Zooming in on pages is considerably faster on Apple's iPhone, by pinching the screen, and of course, more intuitive. The Android G1 also lets users customize their home screen by dragging and dropping their favorite apps, photos and folders there, for quick access. Apple's iPhone does this just as good, if not better.

At the G1's release, Google and T-Mobile invited several third-party application developers to hold demonstrations of their Android applications. One of those apps was Ecorio, using Android's GPS capabilities to track a user's carbon footprint while driving a car. Another app, which lets users compare prices for products sold in nearby stores by scanning their barcodes with the G1’s built-in camera (ShopSavvy), was also showcased. So, the G1 is going to get pretty much the kind of apps iPhone is getting. Hopefully for Google and T-mobile, the device will be able to run them smoothly.

Also worth noting is that Google announced last year that it would give $10 million worth of prizes to software development companies to develop innovative and useful applications for the platform, much like the iFund backing up iPhone development. The difference is that the iFund is giving away ten times more money ($100 million) to the developers of the coolest iPhone apps.

G1 - iPhone comparison (web browsing, design):