The Android phone has arrived in Korea. Motorola on Monday introduced the Motoroi, a smartphone that runs Google's Android mobile operating system and is considered a strong rival of the Apple iPhone.

Google recently launched its own Android phone, the Nexus One, manufactured by Taiwan's HTC. The Internet giant provides Android to handset manufacturers essentially for free. In contrast, Apple uses its operating system exclusively for the iPhone.

Korean cell phone makers including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will introduce their first Android phones within one or two months. They are expected to dramatically change the domestic smartphone market, which is currently dominated by the iPhone and Samsung's Omnia.

Models pose with Motorola's new Motoroi smartphone at a press conference announcing its launch at a hotel in Seoul on Monday. /Yonhap

The Android phone comes pre-loaded with Google's Internet tools and applications, including Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube and Google Talk. Another virtue of the Android phone is its openness. Because the operating system is provided for free, any handset maker can manufacture an Android-powered phone.

Some industry insiders predict that these differences will encourage the development of more varied applications for Android phones while diminishing the use of iPhone applications.

But other experts say a close look reveals that the Android phone is not as refined as the iPhone yet. The new phone's touch screen is not as sensitive as that of the iPhone, and the Android model is slower and more prone to errors. Others point out the lack of diverse and unique applications for the Android as those available from Apple's App Store.

"The first Android phone has only just arrived on the market," an official at a handset manufacturer said. "With global handset makers like Samsung and LG planning to release Android phones in the first half of this year, it is only a matter of time before Android becomes a major player in the smartphone market."