Nerds, Phandroids Unite! The Google Phone has Arrived...

A a year after rumors of the "Google phone" started to spread, the search giant has revealed the first mobile device to run on Android operating system manufactured by Taiwanese electronics maker HTC.

The G1 will be sold via T-Mobile and have both full touch-screen functionality and QWERTY keyboard. It will also include a trackball for one-handed navigation, plus access to mobile Google Web applications like Maps, Street View, Gmail, YouTube, and more.
It will be available in retail stores beginning October 22, for $179 with a two-year voice and data agreement.
Google Android G1 Features: Wi-Fi, 3G (with dual-band UMTS), multimedia messaging, e-mail support (Gmail as well as other POP3 and IMAP e-mail services), instant messaging (read Google), full HTML browser, GPS functionality which will allow you to view locations and navigate 360 degrees by moving the phone around., a 3-megapixel camera, a music player with access to the Amazon MP3 store, Bluetooth, and quad-band GSM support.
The G1 will also offer access to the Android Market, an application store similar to the iTunes App Store for the iPhone & iPod Touch which will include games like Namco's Pac-Man.

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For more info... the Giz has done some great full press coverage of the pros and cons.

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Update 09/24/2008: The guys over at Gizmodo have a few new gripes about this new mobile OS. The biggest, it seems is in regards to the lack of an Exchange client for corporate email. I agree that it's a bit of an oversight, but the Google guys say that they are waiting for the open source community to develop one for them. I mean, the Jesus-phone didn't have an Exchange client until almost a year after initial launch right?

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Anyway... Read 'Why Android Is Bad For Business' here.

~via Cnet