Google android phone

1. The G1's Not a Real Media Player ... Yet
The iPhone doesn't just play back video—it's one of the best (and best-looking) portable media players on the market. While we'll certainly see developers making video playback programs for the G1, there are none built into it. But Apple beware: If there's one thing the open-source development community loves, it is support for a wide range of video formats and codecs. All it will take is one robust mobile playback program (mobile VLC, perchance?) to make users remember just how much they hate converting videos into MP4 so they'll play on an iPhone.

2. The iPhone is Thinner
The G1's slide-out keyboard may be useful, but it comes at a price: The G1 takes us back to the pocket-bulging smartphones of yesteryear, while the iPhone is svelte enough to fit in the front pocket of your Levis.

3. No Multitouch
The G1 uses a capacitive touchscreen. This is the same highly sensitive type of screen found on the iPhone (most touchscreen phones use mostly inferior resistive touchscreens), and should allow the G1 to compete when it comes to touch sensitivity. But the G1 does not have the iPhone's multitouch capability. While the G1 attempts to make up for it by utilizing "long-touches" to bring up deep menus, it loses out on the huge amount of functionality (and coolness) that comes from the iPhone's ability to sense two fingers at once.

4. Terrible Headphone Jack
The iPhone proved that people were willing to listen to music on their cellphones. Still, most manufacturers are reluctant to put a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack on their phones, forcing customers instead to use bulky adaptors or subpar bundled headphones. The 3G iPhone bucked that trend (the original had an annoying recessed headphone jack that could only take specially made headphones), but the G1 relies on an irritating proprietary plug. To make things work, early indications are that adaptors won't even be available when the phone first hits shelves, making the bundled headphones the only choice.

5. Internal Memory
The iPhone currently comes in 8 GB and 16 GB varieties, and we'll likely see a 32 GB version before long. The G1 has just 192 MB of onboard memory, and comes with a 1 GB micro-SD card. That's not really enough memory for a phone that's supposed to be full of music and downloaded applications. If you want an 8 GB G1, you'll have to purchase an 8 GB micro-SD card, which will push the price of the phone from $179 above the iPhone's $199 price tag. If T-Mobile, Google and HTC really expect us to use the G1 as a mobile computer, they'll need to give us more memory.