Think of the G1 as the Zune of iPhones …
Color Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster unimpressed by T-mobile’s G1, the first mobile phone to use Google’s (GOOG) Android mobile operating system. Though the device is certain to be a viable competitor in the current mobile market, it’s no iPhone. Apple (AAPL), says Munster, has nothing to worry about. The G1 will have “little or no impact” on near-term iPhone sales. “To use a baseball analogy, when Apple comes out with a product, they try to hit home runs, but Google’s Android strategy is swinging for base hits,” Munster wrote in a research note to clients Tuesday. “Today’s announcement in itself does not change anything; however, if over the next two years Google has many similar small announcements, it will become a greater threat to the iPhone. … While the G1 is a legitimate competitor with the iPhone, we believe it will have little or no impact on near-term iPhone sales.”