It's rumble-in-the-jungle time for Apple, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft in the quest for extending their computer and Web dominance to mobile. The T-Mobile G1 with Google is another blow in that direction.

Will the blow be a knockout punch is the question. First things first: devices don't win the wars, it's the user experience. It's too early to pass absolute judgment on the G1 phone - which has elements of the iPhone, BlackBerry and Google and goes on sale Oct. 22.

However, there are key differences in features and functionality that will influence T-Mobile customers in the United States and Europe to upgrade or entice others to switch carriers.

Made by Taiwan's HTC, the G1 comes packaged with the Google-led Android operating platform. It will also accept third-party software, just as Apple has for its iPhone.

But there are elements that bind the G1 to Google. Consumers will need a Gmail account to operate email on the phone. It syncs only with Google's calendar and address book.

Also, unlike the iPhone, the G1 will not work with Microsoft Exchange nor can it be physically synced with computer-based calendar or contacts such as Microsoft Outlook.

Those differences alone mean that the G1 won't scare the Apple and BlackBerry dogs in the game. Seamless interfacing between mobile and traditional communications and database features is a key requirement for travelling executives. The G1 needs to bridge that gap.

G1 versus iPhone
Let's ignore all the other features and data plans and focus on four issues that contrast the G1 with the iPhone: pricing, memory, touch-screen and user experience.

The G1 is priced at $179 for a 1GB memory card and $199 for 8GB. The iPhone is priced at $199 for a 8GB model and $299 for 16GB. Draw your conclusions.

Next, the G1 touch-screen is narrower than the iPhone. It is also less adept than the iPhone's. Yes, users can finger-drag, but they can't tap or pinch to zoom in on a particular page without the use of a virtual lens icon.

Finally, there's the user experience.

The G1 device is narrower and heavier than the iPhone and, if the touch-screen's added functionality is excluded, almost similar to the LG Voyager that Verizon Wireless launched last Thanksgiving.

Of course, the G1 comes with two major advantages over the iPhone. It has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a removable battery.

So, all Apple has to do is introduce these two features to its iPhone. The QWERTY keyboard, however, goes against the Apple focus on simplicity and clean lines, besides making the phone heavier. But a removable battery will win many more recruits.

The G1 uses a Google Chrome-lite Web browser versus the iPhone's Safari, which is clearly the best so far for using the Internet on mobile.

All about the Internet
When introducing the G1 to the media at a New York press conference Sept. 23, T-Mobile chief technology and innovation officer Cole Brodman said accessing the Internet was a key consideration in the design of the G1.

"We do think the mobile Internet is the dominant trend in the industry," Mr. Brodman said.

Within T-Mobile, mobile Internet revenue without SMS was up 43 percent and traffic grew 250 percent.

And certainly, the future of any smart mobile device and mobile overall is how well the Internet is accessed and delivered.

Mr. Brodman pointed out that mobile Internet penetration nationwide, at 16 percent, lags most other developed markets. Looked at differently, device makers, online companies and carriers have plenty of room to grow in this market.

How seriously does Google take mobile?

Two guests made a surprise appearance at the G1 press conference: Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They made brief remarks on the G1, alluding particularly to Google's bread-and-butter feature, search.

It was clear that Google realizes the Web's next frontier is mobile. And the one thing that sites or search engines competed on in the early days of the computer-based Internet was the speed of pulling up pages. That scenario is being replayed.

"Speed differences between using a phone and using a laptop is still pretty big," Mr. Page told the audience.

Speed is a euphemism for making the consumer's mobile online experience smoother and more like the computer-based Internet.

For T-Mobile and Google, the G1 is an attempt to remain a key player in a four-cornered mobile ring that comprises carriers, online giants, device manufacturers and software companies.