While both the new G1 from Google and T-Mobile and the Apple iPhone have their pluses, the biggest game-changer is the G1's opennness. It comes down to who has the most choices, both for applications, personalization and network service. And in the end, that winner will probably be an Android-based phone (be that the G1 or not).
While developers struggle with the Apple App Store and getting just the right feature mix (not too bad to tarnish Apple's rep, but still not too good to be tough competition either), they may instead decide to flock to the Android Market, which has more of an anything goes feel to it (and of course, more of a buyer beware feel too).
The real test between the two, though, isn't ready yet. T-Mobile is just the first network service provider to launch an Android phone. Eventually, consumers will have a choice of networks, and that should make the G-phone a lot more attractive. It's too bad that the first iteration is SIM-locked to T-Mobile, but by early next year, several different versions of Android phone/network service will be available. And in the end, the phone with the most choice will win.
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The G1 is just getting
The G1 is just getting launched while the iPhone is in its second iteration. From the recent glitches in the iPhone and the open platform of the G1 I think we can expect the G1 to be drawing circles around the iPhone come this time next year. Unless Apple is working on another iteration of the iPhone. Are they?
IPhone < G1
The G1 won't get very far considering it's locked down on T-Mobiles crappy 3G network (unless you happen to be on Wi-Fi or standing in an amazing good spot!) and since it doesn't want to play nicely with Exchange (probably it's biggest drawback).
Wait until the developers start moving with this and you will probably see a huge break-through in the market as far as open-source phones go.
...I'm still sticking to my CrackBerry
iPhone definitely rocks
I just got an iPhone last month and never would go back to a blackberry. Sound quality on phone is great even in weak areas. Blackberry was a terrible telephone and never got the hang of thumbing. The exchange client works great as well.
How about Memory? 1gb/8gb vs 16gb!
The G1 comes with a measly 1gb of memory. You can add (at an extra cost of course... there goes a big chunk of savings!) up to a MAX of 8gb.
At 8gb, it ties the low end iPhone (also 8gb). The higher end iPhone has 16gb, which you cannot have with the G1 at any price.
This slide show needs one more slide.
Edge: iPhone.
Memory? How about Speed?
Let's face it, the trueth of the fact is most applications, the true reasons for us to buy these devices for in the first place, are network connected.
It would be more interesting and meaningful for these phones to have a bake-off on Internet download or upload speeds.
After all you can have as many apps developed for these different camps as you get tired of them, but what good do they bring you if they all crawl over the Internet?
Storage Not Addressed
Based on all I've read I would choose the G-phone, primarily for the Linux platform and openness. The article did not address storage, and I think this is important to some people. The article does not state how much storage the G-phone has, or whether or not it has the ability to have storage added via memory card. We know the iPhone comes in 8GB and 16GB models. Some people may prefer the iPhone for its known storage capabilities. Also, battery life was not addressed, but I suspect that is due to not having devices to test with.
opensource vs. open to customization
I don't really think you can compare a product that's in it's second iteration to one that hasn't been released yet, but considering my experience with the iphone that I've had for about two weeks now I can't agree with concerns regarding the availability of applications. If someone is interested in linux and opensource in the first place they typically have the knowledge and inclination required to jailbreak an iphone which opens the phone up to a vast number of additional applications and customization options.
Maybe after a year or two the G1 will be a contender, probably more like the G2. But personally I'd rather trust in a product that A. is from a company with a proven track record in hardware (google obviously is not.) and B. has a a little bit of a foundation, infrastructure, etc. I'm sure the G1 will be a success eventually, (it's rare to see a google venture that hasn't worked) but for the time being I'm happy with my iphone and don't think the benefits are sufficient incentive to switch to an unknown variable.
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