iPhone killer? Think again.

In case you were living under a rock, the much-hyped T-Mobile G1 launched today. You know, the first cell phone that runs Google's Android mobile operating system. It was also the phone that the media dubbed as the "first real iPhone killer." 

Well, it's here, and I doubt any one of the 6.9 million iPhone 3Gs currently sold and the other millions of original iPhones are vibrating in fear tonight. Google announced the Android project a few months after the iPhone first went on sale in the summer of 2007, and the G1 is the product of nearly a year's worth of work. It should be known that the actual G1 hardware is made by HTC, not Google.

What I'm really astonished to find, however, is that in the four or so months we've had to digest the images of what the G1 would look like, no one has commented on its aesthetics, or lack thereof. Bottom line: the G1 is not a pretty phone, and Android is not a pretty OS. Contrast that to the G1's chief competitor, the iPhone 3G which is, in many people's opinions (including mine) a work of design magic. The iPhone feels like something special when you hold it in your hand, like this is way more than just a phone. iPhone OS has an elegant and graceful user interface, with animations leading you from one thing to the next. Android, on the other hand, just looks cartoonish. The G1's sliding display and hidden keyboard is just lame. And don't get me started on the whole T-Mobile network issue. T-Mobile was very late in getting into the 3G game, and its 3G coverage pales in comparison with other companies like AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

I'll give the G1 one thing: push Gmail. I've long been a Gmail devotee, but I've started to really become addicted to MobileMe's push email service on the iPhone, even if it costs something like $90 a year to subscribe.  If Yahoo! can get push email working on the iPhone, why can't Google? I guess the G1 seals the deal that we'll never see push Gmail on the iPhone.

Of course, I won't make my final judgements until I actually see and touch a G1 in a T-Mobile store, but I doubt that will do much to sway my opinion.