Google Seeks Cell Phone Edge

With the launch Wednesday of Google’s G1 phone, the smart phone market is more crowded than ever. Selecting the right phone gets a little more complicated too, since each has its upsides and downsides. Each phone offers video, music, Internet surfing, e-mail, text messaging, a digital camera and other features.

Here’s a snapshot of the G1 and how its rivals stack up:

Google G1 also called the T-Mobile G1.

Price: $179.

Service: T-Mobile plan prices not disclosed yet.

Available: Wednesday.

Need to know: This is Google’s first cell phone, and possibly an instant rival to Apple’s iPhone, and comes with a full QWERTY keyboard for messaging. Google wrote the “Android” software, which operates the phone, and opened up the phone to software designers to write their own programs, games and features.

Apple iPhone

Price: $199 to $299, depending on memory.

Service: AT&T plans starting at $70 per month.

Need to know: Apple set a new design and hype standard for smart phones with its original iPhone, and now the faster 3G version. The phone links easily with Apple’s computers and iTunes music and video software. Apple was first to open its phones to outside developers and now offers thousands of applications, or “apps,“ ranging from video games to Koi pond animations.

Palm Centro

Price: $69 to $99, depending on carrier.

Service: $99 through Verizon Wireless; $69 through AT&T; Sprint’s price isn’t disclosed yet.

Need to know: The Centro broke the $100 price barrier, making a direct play for general consumers rather than the business crowd. It also comes in an “unlocked” version for $299 that allows customers to use the phone with any carrier.

BlackBerry Storm

Price: Not disclosed yet.

Service: Verizon Wireless.

Available: Due out this fall.

Need to know: The Storm aims to take BlackBerry’s dominance of business smart phones and become an iPhone rival. It will offer a full touch-screen display, and the Storm will vibrate slightly with each touch when typing, mimicking the feel of a real keyboard.

Other competitors:

Motorola Krave, $149.

LG Dare, $199.

Samsung Instinct, $129 after rebate.

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919.