Google is betting it can revolutionise wireless Internet service on cellphones the way that it transformed the search business on PCs.

Google is betting it can revolutionise wireless Internet service on cellphones the way that it transformed the search business on PCs.

It has already taken on Microsoft in the market for productivity and web browsing software. Google's Android software is taking aim at Microsoft's Windows Mobile; Symbian, in which Nokia is an investor; and Apple's iPhone, which dominate the smart phone market.

Andy Rubin, Google's director of mobile platforms, said that Android's success hinges on the reception of the first phone, due out later this month.

"We're in the final stages and having lots of sleepless nights," he said. "We're very happy with the results," said Rubin, who worked previously at Apple and a number of Silicon Valley start-ups.

T-Mobile USA is expected to introduce the first Android phone in New York on September 23, said sources familiar with the plan.

Google is under pressure to deliver a product sufficiently different from Apple's iPhone and the myriad copycats that have appeared since it was introduced last year.

Rather than launch the new operating system with a range of devices from several handset makers and phone carriers, Rubin said Google chose to "put our blinders on" and make sure the first phones impress consumers. - Reuters