Many gadget hounds consider the G1, with built in support for Gmail and other Google apps, the iPhone's . The G1 features a full-size keyboard hidden beneath its sliding display.

Gartner analyst states the fairly obvious: "Ninety-nine dollars is the price point at which consumers will readily adopt a phone."

However, the fine-print commitments must be noted: Cancel the two-year T-Mobile contract that comes with the phone, and you'll be billed $250 to undo the discount. An unlimited wireless data plan, which many a geek will need, costs $40 a month.

Why the steep discount? Hart writes, "T-Mobile is willing to sell the phone at the lower price because it wants to add high value customers in the face of recession as well as competitive products like the iPhone and Palm Pre, which is coming out later this year."