The New York Times reports on the launch of the new 'Google phone' which is intended to challenge the Apple iPhone as a way to extend the Internet to the mobile market. Developed in conjunction with T-Mobile, the new G1 phone will be launched in the US at the end of October and offers a slick design that combines a touch-screen and keyboard.

The new phone is the first to be powered by Google’s Android operating system, which was introduced to allow mobile phone companies to provide more flexibility in the way that the Internet can be used in this sector. The article reports comments by analysts who have said that the G1 did not represent the kind of revolutionary change in design and function that the iPhone has shown, but this new launch is likely to further accelerate the two trends that will have a lasting impact on the wireless industry - namely, the growing use of the mobile Internet, and the ability of consumers to customize their phones with their favorite functions.

At the G1 launch in New York, it was announced that the new phone will have a selling price just below the iPhone. In addition, it will include applications such as Google’s search, maps, Gmail and YouTube, although the Android concept is to also encourage third-party developers to create programs to run on it. Google will include an applications store, called the Android Marketplace, where the owners of the G1 and future Android-powered phones will be able to download those programs, so that consumers will be able to decide what they want to run on their phones.