Knock Knock. Who’s There? G1, Yo.

The speculation has ceased, the first Google powered cell phone has finally arrived. Dubbed the T-Mobile G1, this new open source (think: not Apple) rebel will hit retail stores October 22 and cost a reasonable $179 with a two year voice and data agreement. This compared to Apple’s $199 entry fee.

Sporting features such as full touch-screen functionality in addition to a sliding QWERTY keyboard and built in trackball for one handed navigation, the G1, built by HTC, appears to have borrowed functionality from across all of its current smart phone competitors and combined them into one relatively slick package. Other bells and whistles include: a 3 megapixel camera (compared to iPhone’s 2), a music player with access to Amazon’s DRM-free MP3 store, built in wi-fi, and GPS support.

Finally, if that’s not enough to convince you of Google’s smartphone conquering intentions, the G1 will also offer access to the Android Market which serves a similar function to that of Apple’s application store. Let the inevitable iPhone versus G1 battles begin.

Cost: $179 @ T-Mobile