Google and T-Mobile finally took the wraps off the T-Mobile G1, the first phone to use the Internet giant’s Android operating system.

The phone, the first of several to come, crystallizes Google’s ambition to create an open mobile environment that gives users access to a wide variety of applications and the mobile Internet, which Google hopes to capitalize on through advertising.

It also provides a boost to T-Mobile, giving it a flagship handset that embodies its belief in the power of the mobile Internet.

“We haven’t been able to rely on the integration of the Internet and mobile phone to bring us together,” said Cole Brodman, chief technology and innovation officer for T-Mobile USA. “We’re here to change that.”

The device, built by HTC of Taiwan, takes the shape of the Apple iPhone but offers a slide-out keyboard similar to T-Mobile’s Sidekick. It will go on sale Oct. 22 for $179 with a two-year contract and will be offered with a monthly $25 unlimited data plan with some messaging, or $35 for unlimited data and messaging – plus the monthly fee for telephone service.

Source: SFGate