The first Google-powered phone, the T-Mobile G1, will hit British shelves on October 30, ready to do battle with the iPhone and other new touchscreen devices in the run up to Christmas.

25,000 British customers have pre-registered their interest in the G1, the first to run on Android, Google’s new operating system for mobile phones, after the new device was launched five weeks ago in New York.

Today, T-Mobile announced the release date and confirmed that the G1 would be available free on £40-per-month contracts. The “Combi 35” price plan includes 800 minutes and unlimited text messagrd, while “Flext 40” includes up to 1,250 minutes or up to 2,500 texts, or a mix of the two. Unlimited internet access will be available on the price plans for no extra charge.

The G1 is part of a crowded market for touchscreen devices. It distinguished itself from the iPhone by featuring a slide-out qwerty keyboard as well as a trackball to navigate around its screen. However, the new BlackBerry Storm seems to have topped that innovation by including an intuitive “clickable” touchscreen.

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The G1, however, will have access to the Android market, where users will be able to download applications, from games to mapping services, that have been created by independent developers.

Google hopes this “open source” approach to developing its Android platform will make it more innovative than other mobile phone software in the long run, but critics say the system may lack quality control.

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