Google has posted an Android online, but the page has only brief information and is updated rarely.

For its part, Google talks as though it is as committed to the phone as ever. "Android has surpassed my expectations," Erick Tseng, lead product manager for Android, said via e-mail. He said he's looking forward to the next year with the launch of new phones and some "truly mind-blowing applications."

Both T-Mobile and Google said they're happy with Android's progress so far. T-Mobile called the G1 "a resounding success."

Android has largely followed in the iPhone's footsteps, rather than setting new trends, but it has contributed at least one significant innovation. "It's one of the few truly open platforms for developers," said Howe. "If you're someone who wants to reinvent the actual phone-calling experience, in some ways it's the only game in town."

Android may have attracted developers for precisely that reason, but developers have also expressed widespread discontent. Some have complained that aspects of the Android Market discourage application sales.