Wow. The new gadget from Google is here. Everyone has been waiting for the gPhone (more properly the T Mobile G1 handset running Google’s Android system, but that’s no nearly as catchy…) and to see exactly what Android can do for the world. Well, the wait is nearly over. Pictures are appearing all over the web and the consortium is just about ready to let the adoring public get their grubby hands on it.

So what can this little Android do for me? Well, a lot, actually.

The beauty of this software – and indeed of the design of the handset itself – is that it will be able to perform pretty much the same tasks as can a standard computer. Certainly of the Google suite of web apps will be operational on the gPhone. You can talk to your mates with Google Talk, email them with Google Mail, and find your way to them with Google Maps. All from the comfort of your bus, car, train or feet. You will be able to buy third-party apps for the gPhone, and these will be provided by Android market – and parallel of Apple’s Apps Store which keeps the iPhone supplied with similar material.

This is a gadget of the future.