A survey held by Morgan Stanley shows that in the US during Q4, 300,000 Android phones were sold while Apple sold 1.75 million iPhones. That’s about 6 iPhones to 1 Android.

Now while Google still has to play catch up, the above figures are only based on two of its mobile manufacturing partners – HTC & T-Mobile. Soon enough we should see Motorola, LG, Sony Ericsson et al.

Surprising figures? Not really. iPhone always had an edge over Google’s acquired Android. Best network operator (AT&T rated 1, while T-Mobile rated at 4), better user experience, better multimedia and even better software.

And software is the key point here – the infamous App Store. That’s Apple’s additional revenue model. For Google? It’s not about selling their Android platform – no no no, it’s about making it easier to get it’s users to use Google services to then see (and hopefully click) on their ads.

Does that mean once we have more manufacturers using Android, we may see a sizable increase in revenue for Google? Unknown…

Don’t forget Google can still be accessed on the iPhone. I mean, I use them when I do a web search on my phone, but do I click on their ads? Well, not really.

So where does Microsoft fit in all this? Recently, they have announced that along with the next version of Windows Mobile, they will also release – guess what – an app store!

It’s called the “SkyMarket”. And along with SkyMarket, Microsoft will also launch “SkyBox” (similar to MobileMe to sync emails, contacts, and other data) and “SkyLine” – similar to SkyBox, but for small businesses.

Now, I’m assuming that the SkyBox will be free (or peanuts) unless they plan to make it work for non Windows devices – like a Nokia N95, iPhone or Android for that matter.

However, all this has been done – it’s not cutting edge. What we’re seeing is a company following the footpaths of the successful ones.

Still, Apple is holding it’s ground pretty well.

Over the last weekend, I was looking forward to just one thing – my new iPhone 3G.

That’s right after months of reading and waiting I’ve given up on the Samsung Omnia as well as the HTC and moved on to the Apple corner.

You see, I would have got the Samsung, however usability, from what I understand, is a bit crap. It’s got these small little ‘x’ to close the window on the corner where your finger may have to tap it several times before you get it. It’s not multi touch and the response of the TouchWiz isn’t comparable to the iPhone.

Then there is the screen resolution and colour, which on the iPhone demolishes the Samsung hands down. The HTC Touch HD may have been good – but god knows when that’s coming out.

When it comes to the Camera – the Omnia would have taken that trophy, however, I figured, if I want a camera – I should get a proper camera. What you get on the iPhone is basic enough for me.

So my final decision was to jump on the band wagon with other iPhone owners.

I’m on a Virgin plan, which is $70 per month + $4 for the phone (16GB Black). This includes $520 worth of calls (incl. international which I often make) and 1GB of data per month. However, for an extra $30 you can go on the $100 plan per month where the $4 fee is waived, and you get the same amount of call credit but 5GB of data instead.

I was told that if you started on the $70 plan (+ $4) and then decide to later move to the $100 – you will still have to pay that additional $4. So either start at $100 or later upgrade to $104. But seriously, 1GB is quite enough really.

Once home, I activated the phone over iTunes. The phone already had the latest firmware. I got it connected to my wireless network and then it was time to find some applications and games. The Apple App store does have a great selection. You can find paid or free apps. Do a bit of research, as sometimes you might find that a free app could almost do what the paid app would do.

So far I’ve installed

WordPress (to write and review blogs on my website),
MotoChaser (cheap and fun),
Audi A4 (free and not so good – a marketing stunt I think. Will uninstall soon),
Urban Spoon (finds restaurants near your current location),
Shazam (don’t you find yourself listening to a song and trying to get the name of it? This app records what the iPhone can listen and then gets back to you with the name & the artist)
Fring (Skype and MSN contacts on my phone)
Remote (control iTunes on my wireless network)
WinePad (to record the wines I’ve tasted before)
Hold’em (great poker game for $6)

I’ve also configured my Gmail (primary mail account) with the Mail app that comes standard. My mobile number transferred from Vodafone to Virgin (it took about 24 hours starting Sunday afternoon).

Virgin runs off the Optus network – which I heard from various write ups and forums that they are having issues. And I’ve seen a little bit of it. Where I work in Pyrmont the coverage isn’t fantastic. Not always on 3G in the building. But voice calling was fine.

I’ve moved some of my music from my iPod to the iPhone. My iPod is now my 80GB external hard drive *sigh*

At the end of the day, I am quite satisfied with my choice. It’s more than just a phone as it comes with heaps of entertainment to fill the void while you wait around.

I’ll keep you posted as I find new apps (or if I write any).