Apple is a master of marketing. The original iPhone was a huge success in spite of several shortcomings. Each successive iteration of the iPhone has made it a stronger device. Each update of the iPhone’s OS has added key features that make the iPhone a stronger contender in this market. But it’s really Apple’s marketing might that took a weak, also-ran phone and turned it into the sensation that it is.

Even th e Palm Pre is garnering a lot of attention, though I think much of it is morbid curiosity. Tech fans everywhere are waiting to see if the Pre is enough to pull Palm out of the tech industry dead pool.

Which brings us to Android. The Android OS is incredible, yet Android doesn’t seem to get a lot of love. I think this is because Google relies on the phone makers and vendors to market it and, so far, T-Mobile is the only big vendor in the US. For reasons unknown to me, HTC, the makers of the G1, don’t really market their individual handsets. We hear a lot of hype from other companies like Samsung and Asus about upcoming offerings, and I can hardly wait to see what they have. But what they don’t have is Apple’s marketing might.

I love my Android phone. I have the G1, which I got from T-Mobile before leaving the US. It’s an invaluable tool and condenses all of the “wants” that I had when playing with things like Internet tablets, yet provides me with a phone. I’ll be writing up some of the tools that I use to help me in my freelance work. For now, though, I just want to give it a little more love…