After an internet full of speculation, search giant Google has finally shown the world its new mobile phone. Google has announced its rival to the Apple iPhone today in New York City, to a room full of hungry gadget press. The T-Mobile G1 is a touch-screen handset with a slide-out keyboard, capable of more tricks than most notebook PCs. Created by Taiwanese tech firm HTC, the G1, powered by Google’s Android software, can run the internet as well as allow you to instantly chat to your friends, hot link to popular websites and present you with 3D maps. The entire device can be operated by touch-screen, meaning images can be edited, selected and moved around quite easily. At the swanky launch event in New York, representatives from T-Mobile, Google and HTC blushed their way through the new handsets functions. Here are some of the more impressive functions the makers are boasting: - Drag and drop functions - 1-Click ordering on Amazon - Quick links to Youtube, Facebook and other sites - Music and movie player, which auto-links to relevant info online - Compas mode; a nifty function placing you, virtually, inside a city and by moving the phone you move around the city - Email sync with Gmail, Yahoo and Microsoft - Compatible with Word documents, Excel and PDF files A key feature of the T-Mobile G1 is Android’s open platform agenda. Simply put, this means anyone can develop for the Android-based phones. This is in direct contrast to Apple’s policy of strictly policing who can develop for its wonder-mobile, the iPhone. It’s early days, but it looks very much like Google’s Android, and the G1, will be the serious contender to the iPhone’s mobile dominance. The T-Mobile G1 will be released in the US in October and land in the UK in November. Though no UK pricing has been confirmed, the handset will cost $179 USD (£90).