The first smartphone powered by Google's open source Android operating system - the G1 - was in one sense a big success even before it went on sale this week through Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA mobile unit. According to some reports, 1.5m T-Mobile G1 handsets were preordered by buyers eager to get hold of a device and an operating system that promise to deliver another boost to the consumer smartphone market. It goes on sale in the UK shortly.

I have been testing the G1, made by Taiwan-based HTC, for several weeks. A number of shortcomings aside, it is a true rival to Apple's iPhone and other smartphone devices aimed at the consumer market.