NEW YORK -- Google is jumping into the mobile phone business with its new G1 phone.

People started lining up at stores in Southwest Portland and around the U.S. Wednesday to buy the phone at retail stores.

The new gadget features a touch screen, slide-out keyboard and a trackball.

Google-T Mobile

This alternative to Apple's iPhone is the first cell phone powered by Google's Android operating system.

The G1 is available starting Wednesday for $179 with a two-year contract from T-Mobile.

The phone will be sold in T-Mobile stores only in the U.S. cities where the company has rolled out its faster, third-generation wireless data network.

T-Mobile's said in addition to Portland, the 3G is running in Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, New York (including northern New Jersey and Long Island), Phoenix, San Antonio, and San Diego.