Lo and behold, the UK is about to receive the first commercial phone that runs Google’s much talked about Android operating system.

However, the T-Mobile G1 is not a Google Phone. The hardware has nothing to do with Google. The operating system happens to be Android. There are two drawbacks to this.

1) The hardware is nothing like as downright lovely as the iPhone – both in terms of looks and usability. (Fold-out keyboards are sooooooooo 2005.)

2) The exciting thing about Android is that it is designed to be used as a platform for other people to create cool applications for. This has not happened yet and the smart money says we won’t see the jaw-dropping functionality being developed on the Android platform for at least a year.

Our verdict: Android will soon be available on better phones than the G1. Also, wait 12 months before getting an Android phone and you’ll see it loaded with some truly amazing gizmos. In the meantime, stick to the iPhone.

We are now even more convinced the iPhone will change the world.

This is not because we have been seduced by its good looks and supereasy user interface- though we have.

Nor is it because of the recent unveiling of the 3G iPhone. It was an expensive flawed device before its new features were announced. After them it will be a slightly less flawed, slightly less expensive device.

But we were never wowed by the iPhone because of its technology. We predicted that it would change mobile because of Apple’s marketing clout and the effect that would have on Apple’s competitors. If you disagree, try to remember how many people owned MP3 players pre the iPod.

What’s got us buzzing now is the news that the iPhone is changing how users behave.

According to no less a source than Google, 50 times more search requests come from Apple iPhones than any other mobile handset.

If other mobiles also make web access a common feature (and they are), Vic Gundotra, head of Google’s mobile operations, believes the number of mobile searches could soon be greater than the number of web searches.

User behaviour is changing again. We had Web 2.0, now mobile becomes a major platform. Search will be a major driver. And search engine optimisation is moving towards “natural search”, ie looking at the words on the page.

Is your content ready. Would you like it to be?

The iPhone
Two of us held off buying iPhones – deterred by the cost and by the fact that Apple’s gadget is not 3G. We said that, while Apple’s marketing would revolutionise the mobile market, the iPhone was a flawed device. Fools! We were fools. It’s not only gorgeous, it’s a joy to use and puts our clunky Nokia E61s to shame. When you’re browsing the web you can turn the iPhone sideways and the page turns with it. You can zoom into text just by brushing your fingers across the screen in a gesture that’s halfway between the Great Lafayette and Gipsy Rose Lee. As well as being enormously sensual this demonstrates our dictum that only the content matters – the website’s design is swept away by the fingertips.

The Flip
Posting video online is easy. Shooting it sometimes isn’t, especially if you want good quality, access to editing and the ability to email or post it easily. This is why we want a Flip. It offers all that in one package for $149.

In terms of computing technology, our Content Marketing Director has identified the system he requires for reading his emails and browsing the web. He apparently requires a fully specced Alienware Area 51 laptop. While it’s a bit steep at 4,074.90 it’s a bargain compared to the Area 51 ALX CrossFire he wants for his desktop:

This reminds us of the time he tried to persuade us that he needed a Lamborghini Countach to help carry his work home. And we hope he won’t be too disappointed when he gets the much more Web 2.0 Asus Minibook instead. It’s Linux-based and is packed with these features:

• With a 7″ screen and weighing less than 1Kg, it’s smaller and lighter than many textbooks.
• Robust solid-state hard drive provides fast boot-up / shut-down and preserves pupils’ files.
• Integrated webcam (4G model only), microphone and speakers for easy web video-conferencing.
• Integrated 802.11b/g wireless and optional 3G module provide great connectivity.
• Integrated card-reader and three USB 2.0 ports provide a simple way to add additional storage and easy connection for peripherals.
• Full-size VGA-out for connection to projectors or monitors

Best of all it costs around £170!

Bluetooth Laser Virtual Keyboard

We’re bored – bored I tell you – of lugging around keyboards. Bah to their QWERTY awkwardness and pocket-unfriendly rectangularity. Two of us bought Nokia E61s because they had an integral keyboard (see “fools, fools” above). If only we’d known about the Bluetooth Laser Virtual Keyboard. It’s the size of a matchbox yet projects a QWERTY layout onto any flat surface and then – thanks to magical creatures that live inside its small yet monolithic form (or something like that) – it follows your fingers as you type.

It even makes clicking noises as you thump away at the “keys”. We wantssss it, my precioussss. We wantssss it now. Even if it does cost $149 (or £3.79 at the current exchange rate). One of these wee fellas will keep us happy until we can buy neuroheadsets that are sophisticate enough to read your thoughts and transfer them into a computer.