T-Mobile's G1 mobile phone -- with its Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) powered -- may have a bill of materials that's about 10% cheaper than Apple, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 3G, according to research firm iSuppli. No wonder it retails for only $179 with a two-year contract while the 8GB iPhone 3G sells for $199 with the same two-year contract.

Part of the difference may be in the memory of both units. While the iPhone 3G comes with 8GB of memory already installed, the T-Mobile G1 comes with a paltry 1GB memory card, which of course can be upgraded unlike the iPhone's memory capacity. The cost breakdowns: $144 for the G1 and $160 for the iPhone 3G. Even with the price break of a meaningless $20, can the G1 ever hope to compete with the iPhone's sales numbers?

Doubtful, at least in its current configuration. Apple's iPhone 3G surpassed the Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) RAZR to become the best-selling handset in the U.S. in this year's third quarter. The G1 is just now hitting the market as of late October. With the prices of the two units within $20 of each other, and with the iPhone's huge lead in being on the market, the G1 won't make much headway against iPhone sales. 2009 - and a second-generation G1 - could see renewed interest in T-Mobile's offering. Right now, it's all Apple.

When T-Mobile USA and Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced the Google-powered G1 smartphone last week, little did the fourth-largest wireless provider in the U.S. know that it would have to turn customers away.

Anxious customers who want to sign up for the new phone when it's released on October 22nd are apparently getting this message on T-Mobile's website: "Sorry! Due to the overwhelming popularity of the new T-Mobile G1, upgrades are temporarily unavailable. Please try again later." This news is according to the Android Guys blog, which guesses that the Google G1 sold out in four days.

T-Mobile has neither confirmed nor denied that the Google G1 sold out, nor has it released initial sales figures for the still-unreleased smartphone. The G1 is a clear competitor to the Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 3G and to the various BlackBerry and Windows Mobile smartphones. It's also poised to become a huge seller for T-Mobile as more and more touchscreen competitors try to steal some of Apple's thunder.

When Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC announced that T-Mobile USA would be the first wireless company to carry a wireless smartphone running Google's hyped Android operating system, those who have refused the iPhone and were fervent Google supporters finally had a reason to cheer. There have been several unknowns, with the most important one being a launch price.

This may have just been cleared up. CrunchGear is reporting that the HTC/Google "Dream" Android-based smartphone will sell for $200 when released on T-Mobile USA sometime in October, or more precisely for $199 as the WSJ reports today. This is identical to the pricing of the iPhone 3G on AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T), so if there are any doubts Google and T-Mobile are squaring up to compete head-to-head with Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and AT&T, those have been nicely squashed.

Sprint Nextel Corp.'s (NYSE: S) first attempt to compete with a unit very much like the iPhone was the Samsung Instinct. That particular phone, which was released in June, has quickly become Sprint's best cellphone seller in over two years. Can the HTC Dream Android-powered phone give T-Mobile USA a lift like this? Both Google and T-Mobile USA hope so, although Apple iPhone 3G sales certainly are not slowing down. But there are folks who will never want to be involved with AT&T at all (even with the iPhone 3G exclusivity), so having choices outside the Apple/AT&T world could spell immediate success continuation for Sprint Nextel and soon for T-Mobile USA.

Although it seems like a long shot that Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) could end up buying the wireless handset division of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), the company may indeed end up becoming a player in the wireless industry one way or another. At the least, Dell may want to hook up with a larger partner with some kind of wireless computing clout.

If the rumored Motorola deal doesn't work out, would Dell work with Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) on a new wireless smartphone based on Google's Android software platform? There are rumors that a partnership could be announced next week at the Mobile World Congress in Spain. The question remains: why on Earth would Dell want to leap into the brutally competitive wireless arena, even with Google as an ally?

Perhaps Google needs a high-profile hardware partner to build a flagship handset to showcase its Android software system for mobile phones. "Senior Industry Sources" have claimed that a partnership between the two is on tap for next week, although an actual phone may not be the product to be announced. Dell could announce a tablet PC running the Android platform instead of an actual wireless handset, for example.