Google unveils new smartphone

[daredevil]

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (AFP) –
Google has unveiled its new Nexus One smartphone in a direct challenge to heavyweight Apple's iPhone handsets.

The Internet giant billed the touch-screen device on Tuesday, the culmination of collaboration with Taiwanese electronics titan HTC, a "superphone" that marked the next step in the evolution of its Android software.

"I think you will see it pushes the limits of what's possible on a smart phone," HTC chief executive Peter Chou said as the smartphone debuted at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California.

"It is very thin and feels good in your hand."

Nexus One handsets are no thicker than pencils and no heavier than keychain Swiss Army knives, Google engineer Erick Tseng said while demonstrating one of the smartphones.

"It is a great marriage of form and function," Tseng said.

Nexus One smartphones are built on the same Android 2.1 software that runs Droid smartphones that recently hit the market with innovations like 3D graphics, according to Tseng.

The handsets feature new speech command capabilities that allow users to speak emails, text messages or Internet search queries.

Nexus One devices can provide turn-by-turn spoken driving directions from a Google mapping program.

Google launched its own online store at google.com/phone where the Nexus One will be sold.

"This is really a Google phone," said Interpret analyst Michael Gartenberg.

"A lot of the Android phones that came to market are kind of lackluster. One of the ways to avoid mediocrity is to kick things up a couple of notches yourself."

Nexus One smartphones will be sold at the Google-hosted Web store for 529 dollars "unlocked," without ties to a telecom carrier.

Nexus One handsets will be offered starting at 179 dollars if paired with T-Mobile service contracts in the United States.

Google has made "strategic partnerships" with telecom firm Verizon in the United States and Vodafone in Europe.

Nexus One devices linked to service from Verizon in the US and Vodafone in Europe should be available by mid-year, according to Google.

Google said it will ship Nexus One devices to buyers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Britain and the United States.

The smartphones are designed to work with a variety of telecom carrier networks.

"You can take out your SIM card from any provider and put it in the phone," said Google vice president of product management Mario Queiroz.

The Internet search and advertising giant has a foothold in the market with its Android mobile operating system, featured in more than 20 phones since starting with T-Mobile's G1 in October 2008.

"Google made it very clear that all Android devices are created equal, but some devices are created more equally than others," Gartenberg said.

"They've raised the bar for their partners and they've tried to raise the bar for the ecosystem. They've clearly shown how they want to be a player."

Analysts have expressed concern that Google's move could irk partners backing handsets based on the Internet firm's open-source Android software.

"I don't see it as a threat," said Sanjay Jha, chief of mobile devices at handset titan Motorola, which recently brought to market a Droid smartphone based on Android software.

"I think the Nexus One is a good phone. I think we will upgrade Droid to the software available on Nexus One."

Chou and Jha said they support Gooble's new phone and Web store as a "healthy" expansion of the mobile phone ecosystem.

Google executives sidestepped questions about whether the Nexus One is intended as an "iPhone killer," but acknowledged it should prove a powerful competitor.

Like iPhones, Nexus One devices feature "accelerometer" capabilities allowing images or games on handsets to be controlled with twists or turns.

"The message isn't to the iPhone specifically, it is to consumers," said Google vice president of engineering Andy Rubin. "Choice is a good thing." Related article: Taking aim at Google, Apple buys mobile ad firm

Google has an online Android Marketplace stocked with about 20,000 functional or hip applications for smartphones running the software. Related article: Apple App Store downloads top three billion

With a far greater stockpile of applications, Apple's online App Store is considered among the reasons iPhones have become globally coveted devices.

Apple meanwhile announced that more than three billion mini-applications for iPhone and iPod Touch devices have been downloaded from the App Store in less than 18 months.

"We see no signs of the competition catching up any time soon," Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in a statement.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100106/tc_afp/usitcompanytelecominternetgoogle

[JoeDirt]

excuse me its not a smartphone its a superphone

[thundercunt]

pwned Google = World domination

[!Chuck4Abuck]

nice i just did a jail break on my g1 , this is super hot nice post

[-=Medic=-]

HTC ^^ I already have Leo (hd2) all I need is wait to have version of android for leo to get rid off this windows mobile 6.5 pro thing... coz the future is Android not WM7

 

for people looking for ROM to replace WM, software, help for each smartphone and more I suggest you this EXCELLENT forum http://forum.xda-developers.com/

[Aigle]

BB knew it was coming from months now. The information has been leak 6 months ago, however BB always get its device leak 8-10 months before the release. I'm a BB employee so I'll tell you that google android and iphone are bullshit. They don't have the infrastructure to support their device and has nothing to give for enterprise which is what BB is aiming for.

 

Difference is easy:

If you want to go on Internet everyday for surfing forums and you don't really want to do phone calls. Use the iphone

If you want to go on the Internet .5-1 hours per week, read your emails, do a lot of phone calls and have security. Then buy a BB

 

All the Enterprise are still aiming for BB and Apple/Google has nothing to kill them. Google and Apple are giving a hard time to BB for clients like all of us; the normal population which is impress by the 10000 unuseful apps and by the funky tweaky features that you won't care about after 1 month you got the cellphone.

 

Now I have no idea for the google phone I'll have to test it

However I'm not impress by the iphone at all.

[Blackguard]

Just happy to see competition. Especially competition that strives for open standards.

 

BB knew it was coming from months now. The information has been leak 6 months ago, however BB always get its device leak 8-10 months before the release. I'm a BB employee so I'll tell you that google android and iphone are bullshit.

 

This will reflect poorly on me, but for the first 15 or so sentences of your post.. I thought you worked for Best Buy lol.. and couldn't for the life of me figure out what in the hell you were getting at. That does show us one thing though, that Blackberry isn't even on my consumer market radar. You bring up some good points, unfortunately I'm not qualified to address them.

[-=Medic=-]

BB knew it was coming from months now. The information has been leak 6 months ago, however BB always get its device leak 8-10 months before the release. I'm a BB employee so I'll tell you that google android and iphone are bullshit. They don't have the infrastructure to support their device and has nothing to give for enterprise which is what BB is aiming for.

 

Difference is easy:

If you want to go on Internet everyday for surfing forums and you don't really want to do phone calls. Use the iphone

If you want to go on the Internet .5-1 hours per week, read your emails, do a lot of phone calls and have security. Then buy a BB

 

All the Enterprise are still aiming for BB and Apple/Google has nothing to kill them. Google and Apple are giving a hard time to BB for clients like all of us; the normal population which is impress by the 10000 unuseful apps and by the funky tweaky features that you won't care about after 1 month you got the cellphone.

 

Now I have no idea for the google phone I'll have to test it

However I'm not impress by the iphone at all.

 

Saying this good or not ... better let time tell us who is gonna be better ^^

 

for 1 month care lol that's not true I am iphone from first generation now second generation user (didn't impress by last one) and now after even I got HTC HD2 leo I can't imagine my self give it away or sell it damn I'm keeping both ^^

 

dude it's just awesome...

 

BB as you said is for professional so not for me... I am just little geek loving those kind concentrated technology multi touch fanboy here ^^

[leiburi]

it looks cool :>

and more useful than iphone...

[Desu]

that thing can probably make coffee and toasts too.

[Methuselah]

<p>MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (AFP) –

<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_0">Google</span> has unveiled its new <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_1">Nexus</span> One smartphone in a direct challenge to heavyweight Apple's iPhone handsets.</p>

<p>

The Internet giant billed the touch-screen device on Tuesday, the culmination of collaboration with Taiwanese electronics titan HTC, a "superphone" that marked the next step in the evolution of its <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_2">Android software</span>.</p>

<p>

"I think you will see it pushes the limits of what's possible on a smart phone," HTC chief executive Peter Chou said as the smartphone debuted at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California.</p>

<p>

"It is very thin and feels good in your hand."</p>

<p>

Nexus One handsets are no thicker than pencils and no heavier than keychain Swiss Army knives, Google engineer Erick Tseng said while demonstrating one of the smartphones.</p>

<p>

"It is a great marriage of form and function," Tseng said.</p>

<p>

Nexus One smartphones are built on the same Android 2.1 software that runs Droid smartphones that recently hit the market with innovations like 3D graphics, according to Tseng.</p>

<p>

 

The handsets feature new speech command capabilities that allow users to speak emails, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_3">text messages</span> or Internet search queries.</p>

<p>

Nexus One devices can provide turn-by-turn spoken driving directions from a Google mapping program.</p>

<p>

Google launched its own online store at <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/afp/tc_afp/storytext/usitcompanytelecominternetgoogle/34630070/SIG=10pf5k4mn/*http://google.com/phone"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_4">google.com/phone</span></a> where the Nexus One will be sold.</p>

<p>

"This is really a <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_5">Google phone</span>," said Interpret analyst Michael Gartenberg.</p>

<p>

"A lot of the Android phones that came to market are kind of lackluster. One of the ways to avoid mediocrity is to kick things up a couple of notches yourself."</p>

<p>

Nexus One smartphones will be sold at the Google-hosted Web store for 529 dollars "unlocked," without ties to a telecom carrier.</p>

<p>

Nexus One handsets will be offered starting at 179 dollars if paired with T-Mobile service contracts in the United States.</p>

<p>

Google has made "strategic partnerships" with telecom firm <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_6">Verizon</span> in the United States and Vodafone in Europe.</p>

<p>

Nexus One devices linked to service from Verizon in the US and Vodafone in Europe should be available by mid-year, according to Google.</p>

<p>

 

Google said it will ship Nexus One devices to buyers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Britain and the United States.</p>

<p>

The smartphones are designed to work with a variety of telecom carrier networks.

<p>

 

"You can take out your <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_7">SIM card</span> from any provider and put it in the phone," said Google vice president of product management Mario Queiroz.

<p>

 

The Internet search and advertising giant has a foothold in the market with its Android mobile operating system, featured in more than 20 phones since starting with T-Mobile's G1 in October 2008.

<p>

 

"Google made it very clear that all Android devices are created equal, but some devices are created more equally than others," Gartenberg said.

<p>

 

"They've raised the bar for their partners and they've tried to raise the bar for the ecosystem. They've clearly shown how they want to be a player."

<p>

 

Analysts have expressed concern that Google's move could irk partners backing handsets based on the Internet firm's open-source <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_8">Android software</span>.

<p>

 

"I don't see it as a threat," said <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_9">Sanjay Jha</span>, chief of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_10">mobile devices</span> at handset titan <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_11">Motorola</span>, which recently brought to market a Droid smartphone based on Android software.

<p>

 

 

"I think the Nexus One is a good phone. I think we will upgrade Droid to the software available on Nexus One."

<p>

 

Chou and Jha said they support Gooble's new phone and Web store as a "healthy" expansion of the mobile phone ecosystem.

<p>

 

Google executives sidestepped questions about whether the Nexus One is intended as an "<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_12">iPhone</span> killer," but acknowledged it should prove a powerful competitor.

<p>

 

Like <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_13">iPhones</span>, Nexus One devices feature "accelerometer" capabilities allowing images or games on handsets to be controlled with twists or turns.

<p>

 

"The message isn't to the iPhone specifically, it is to consumers," said Google vice president of engineering <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_14">Andy Rubin</span>. "Choice is a good thing." Related article: Taking aim at Google, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_15">Apple</span> buys mobile ad firm

<p>

 

Google has an online Android <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_16">Marketplace</span> stocked with about 20,000 functional or hip applications for smartphones running the software. Related article: <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_17">Apple App Store</span> downloads top three billion

<p>

 

With a far greater stockpile of applications, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_18">Apple's online App Store</span> is considered among the reasons iPhones have become globally coveted devices.

<p>

 

Apple meanwhile announced that more than three billion mini-applications for iPhone and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_19">iPod Touch</span> devices have been downloaded from the App Store in less than 18 months.

<p>

 

"We see no signs of the competition catching up any time soon," <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262744956_20">Apple chief executive Steve Jobs</span> said in a statement.</p>

 

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100106/tc_afp/usitcompanytelecominternetgoogle

 

Reminds me of the Terminator. On a different note; only 10 years from now the phones will become like transformers.

Edited January 6, 2010 by Methuselah

[OnionKnight]

Thats nothing. Wait till this phone comes out !

 

 

And it comes with a great plan too ! 200 anytime bullets per month and free bullets after 6 pm on weekends !

[Fb!N!nJa]

Thats nothing. Wait till this phone comes out !

 

 

And it comes with a great plan too ! 200 anytime bullets per month and free bullets after 6 pm on weekends !

lol thats the thing that i would want for christmas or on my birthday omfgbbqpwnlollmaoownthegoogleithink

[knifegod]

Thats nothing. Wait till this phone comes out !

 

 

And it comes with a great plan too ! 200 anytime bullets per month and free bullets after 6 pm on weekends !

 

lol by THAT time pistols will fire lazors and rockets

 

|==

|

SHOOP DA WHOOP PISTOL

Edited January 26, 2010 by knifegod

[PHANTASM]

Thats nothing. Wait till this phone comes out !

 

 

And it comes with a great plan too ! 200 anytime bullets per month and free bullets after 6 pm on weekends !

 

That's the new phone for me! I've been wondering what new smartphone to get.

 

Does it have a .38 caliber model?

 

Maybe I will wait until the .45 caliber iPhone comes out next year.