Apple’s iPhone has to content not only with Palm’s Pre but also now with the newest phone to be launched with Google’s Android operating system: the MyTouch 3G.

The MyTouch will be released his July, with carrier T-Mobile in the United States. MyTouch has a thinner, slick design along with improved battery life. A T-Mobile Vice-president said “we’ve addressed some of the concerns from customers.” The first Google Android phone, released last year, has sold 1 million units. That is nothing compared to the over 21 million sold by Apple.

Google has announced that it has 5,000 applications for the new. Apple leads still with 50,000 apps. But while Google may offer less apps and currently be behind Apple, the Internet giant has strong ambitions for the smart-phone market.

While Apple offers only one iPhone model [with different memory shortage], Google will offer consumers a diverse collection of phones with 18 Android released this year!

Google’s strategy may be to become the Microsoft of smart-phones by developing the software and then offering it for a myriad hardware producers. With 18 handsets expects to be sold, that would seem to be the only reasonable route. If Google decided to develop individual each phone it would probably undercut the firm’s business model by fragmenting the market into unprofitable sales. But by providing the software, Google could establish itself as the market leader for software.

Competing one-to-one with Apple in the hardware-couple-software market may be too big a challenge even for Google.