The HTC "Dream," an Android-based phone will be launched in New York on Tuesday. However, analysts are warning that it likely won't capture the imagination of customers like the iPhone did. By its very nature, Android phones are designed to allow carriers to tinker and innovate; they won't have the jazz and focus of the iPhone, analysts told Reuters.

The belief by industry insiders is that Android phones will struggle in the near term to match the enthusiasm generated by Apple.

"I'm not sure the consumer experience is significantly better than that of the iPhone," said Rajeev Chand, a wireless analyst who has used an early version of Android. "When the iPhone came out the experience was several orders of magnitude better than anything that was out there."

One of the key problems is also a strength: Android, because it is an open platform, will allow innovation and experimentation, but, as a result, won't have the tight integration and focus of the iPhone. It's really a platform that caters to the operators.

Another significant problem foe the carriers will be explaining the platform and benefits to customers. Android is an unknown brand. "We operators struggle with how to market this phone," said Frank Meehan with Hong Kong carrier Hutchinson Whampoa Ltd. "There's nothing really unique about it and we can't say it's a Google phone."

Against the background of those problems, the carriers are hoping that an open source platform that can be tailored to their needs will help galvanize mobile advertising.

An unknown brand with hard to quantify advantages to the customer and the appetite of carriers and advertisers to get into the customer's face via their handset does indeed look like a long, slow, uphill battle.