It has been in development for a long time and now it is ready to be released into the general population, Has Googles G1 Android Phone been well worth the wait or would you be better off sticking with Apples iPhone?

Googles G1 Android Phone was unveiled on 23rd of September 2008 in New York and is due to go on general release in the United States on October 22nd, it will be released in the UK in November and it will be distributed World-wide early in 2009.

The phone a collaboration between Google and T-mobile will be available only in T-mobile stores and it can be yours with a 2 year contract for a $179.00.

With the launch Imminent Android Accessories are hitting the Market place so that you can personalise your phone as soon as you can get your hands on it.

The Phone has touch screen Technology and it also has a qwerty keyboard and you can access the internet via 3G and Wifi, it comes with built in GPS navigation And a compass to help you if you get lost.

Access Google services with one click, including email and messaging and Google Maps is built into the phone, it’s able to run applications simultaneously, which means you could be following turn-by-turn directions on Google Maps while carrying out an instant-messaging conversation with a friend, which at the moment the iPhone is unable to do.

The Phone is light weight coming in at 158g and it boasts 5 hours of talk time or 130hours of standby time before the battery runs out, although the screen is slightly smaller than the iPhone at 3.2 inches it is still a good size and the onboard camera outperforms the iPhone having 3 megapixels compared to the iPhone's 2 megapixels. the storage capacity of the G1 Android Phone could be better because when you compare it to the iPhone, G1 = 2GB, expandable to 8GB iPhone = 8GB or 16GB, the iPhone has alot more to offer.

extra software downloadable from Android Market. Includes games, such as Pac-Man, and useful software, such as Shop Savvy, which allows users to take photographs of a product barcode, send it to Google, and then retrieve price comparison results.

G1 = one-touch music downloads from Amazon MP3 store, 2GB integrated storage, expandable to 8GB. iPhone = one-touch music downloads from iTunes music store, choose from 8GB or 16GB storage.

Everyone is comparing this Phone with the iPhone, but they are two seperate entities, they dont even look alike, each has different aspects that make them unique. in my view I would be happy to own either the G1 phone or the iPhone.

The only major fault with both the G1 Android and the iPhone is that they are both limited to one vendor and they should be available on any mobile network.

It doesn’t have quite the finish of the iPhone (both in terms of hardware or user interface), but it comes pretty damn close. And more importantly, it matches the iPhone on many fronts. It’s got GPS, WiFi, a touchscreen, an accelerometer, a camera, Gmail, Google Maps, a Webkit-based browser (just like Safari on the iPhone), and an App market. Tech Crunch

From a hardware perspective, the G1 isn't a game changer. But under the hood, the Google Android software greatly improves the mobile Web experience for users, making it a compelling competitor to the Apple iPhone and a hands-down winner when compared with other smartphones. CNET

While I was more impressed by the T-Mobile G1 than I thought I'd be, the list of catches for Android and the phone are quickly piling up - some that might very well be dealbreakers. Topping the list, it's tightly integrated with your Google account - so tightly that you can only use one Google account with the phone. Gizmodo

Having had my first hands on with Android today, I can only say one thing: Wow. I'm not a fanboy of anything, never have been and can say with almost a million per cent certainty that I never will be, given my gadget cynicism that seems to exponentially grow by the second, but Android is going to change the face of mobiles. TechRadar UK

The T-Mobile G1 is great. The iPhone is better. The Times

The HTC Dream build quality is okay, and you need to be very wary of the dataplan small print, but Google Android and its myriad apps make the T-Mobile G1 a winner. PC Advisor

It has its strengths and weaknesses and is not bad for a first generation device, but it isn’t the ground breaking, blow-me-away type of device I was looking for from Google and HTC. ZDNet

It certainly doesn't disappoint in its 'Google-y-ness'. First impressions are of a fairly functional business phone, with trackball and a slide-out QWERTY keypad a nice BlackBerry-esque touch. PC Answers

If your world already revolves around Google services, you may find that the G1 fits like a glove. If not, you may be disappointed. Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal

The user interface looks very clean, with the home screen showing just a clock, a phone dialler, Contacts, Browser, Maps, Gmail and a link to T-Mobile's Web'n'Walk service. Users can customise this home screen by simply moving the elements around with their finger. We found the device very responsive in our brief use of it. vnunet.com

So far we like what we see. The phone is surprisingly thinner than we thought it would be, and it feels pretty solid in your hand. The keyboard seems usable and reasonably well thought-out, and the slider action is like butter. Engadget