Will Google's Android change the way we see the world?

So it is finally almost here. The T-Mobile G1, the first smartphone based on Google's Android operating system, is set to ship in the UK in early November. Certainly, the T-Mobile G1 looks like an interesting alternative to Apple's iPhone, not just for the fact that it has a sliding keyboard (something which will please those who have never quite got on with the iPhone's on-screen version), but also because it is a more-or-less open development platform.

That openness will be important, because the T-Mobile G1 has some obvious holes in its software which developers are likely to fill. For example, the music player looks bare-bones compared to the excellent one on the iPhone. But looking beyond the features of the phone itself, there are two rather more interesting points to note about the G1 Android smartphone...

First, there is no support built-in for Microsoft Exchange, which means it will be a much less attractive option for many existing business users than a Windows Mobile-powered smartphone, or even a BlackBerry or iPhone device.

But second, and more importantly, contacts calendar and email don't synchronise with your desktop PC – at all. Instead, they talk directly to Google's servers, making the G1 a truly independent device. Add in the ability to download music from Amazon and applications from the Android Market, and you may never actually need to connect your phone to a PC for anything.

This is clearly a window into Google's view of the future – and it's a scenario that probably keeps many Microsoft executives awake at night. Microsoft's strength has always been the PC, and much of its marketing and technology has been geared to the idea of having a PC on every desktop. After all, Microsoft's Office and Windows franchises – the company's cash (sacred) cows – depend on it.

By breaking the tether between phone and PC though, the G1 represents something of a paradigm shift where the personal computer is no longer the central "personal" device around which everything orbits. Instead, the smartphone in your pocket becomes the window to your online world, providing access to your files, photos, music, and social networks. No wonder Google thinks the cost of developing Android is money well-spent.

[ T-Mobile G1]