Loki
12-14-2009, 09:20 PM
Google phone 'Nexus One' rumours gather pace (http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/806090-google-phone-nexus-one-rumours-gather-pace)
Google is almost certain to start selling its own Googlephone, named the Nexus One, early next year if reports are to be believed, with Google employees already trying out the device.
http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2009/12/14/article-1260794942370-0309F56C0000044D-895826_636x300.jpg
Designed by Google, running the most up-to-date version of its Android operating system, and manufactured by Taiwanese firm HTC, the rumours suggest it will be sold unlocked - meaning Google don't have to tie themselves to any specific phone network, retaining full control of the device.
While there has been no official announcement of the phone, the increasing certainty around the device comes from a number of sources. Firstly, a number of Google employees have spoken on Twitter about being given the phone at a company event last week. One, Program Manager Leslie Hawthorn, wrote: 'We all got the new Google phone. It's beautiful.'
Pictures of the phone also began appearing at around the same time. Blogger Cory O'Brien, who took the clearest picture of the phone, praised the handset, saying: 'Google Phone = iPhone + a little extra screen and a scroll wheel. Great touch screen, and Android'
Google later confirmed on Saturday on their official Google Mobile Blog that employees had been given 'a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android', as part of a process they called 'dogfooding' - essentially, testing out their own products on their employees.
And today, Engadget uncovered that a phone known as the Nexus One had been submitted to the FCC, the United States' Federal Communications Commission, for approval.
Reports suggest that the phone will run on Qualcomm's speedy Snapdragon processor, and will have an OLED screen, and be capable of up to 7.2Mbps download speeds, and 2Mbps upload. It will be running Android 2.1, the latest version of the operating system.
No price details have been released but as no network subsidies are likely, the cost could be high compared to other similar handsets.
HTC make sense as a partner for Google on the project, as they've won widespread praise for the quality of their Android offerings, from the original HTC Dream (marketed as the G1) to the multi-award-winning Hero. The pictured Nexus Ones bear a remarkable similarity to leaked pictures of the upcoming, and highly anticipated, HTC Bravo.
Why would it make sense for the Android phone to be called a Nexus One? Well, sci-fi fans will recall that the androids (well, replicants) in Ridley Scott's classic film Blade Runner - based on Phillip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - were identified as 'Nexus 6' models.
It's not clear if this means that Google plans to push the phone in a less phone-like, more humanoid direction over its next five generations; however, if we were Harrison Ford, we'd probably be worried.
Google is almost certain to start selling its own Googlephone, named the Nexus One, early next year if reports are to be believed, with Google employees already trying out the device.
http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2009/12/14/article-1260794942370-0309F56C0000044D-895826_636x300.jpg
Designed by Google, running the most up-to-date version of its Android operating system, and manufactured by Taiwanese firm HTC, the rumours suggest it will be sold unlocked - meaning Google don't have to tie themselves to any specific phone network, retaining full control of the device.
While there has been no official announcement of the phone, the increasing certainty around the device comes from a number of sources. Firstly, a number of Google employees have spoken on Twitter about being given the phone at a company event last week. One, Program Manager Leslie Hawthorn, wrote: 'We all got the new Google phone. It's beautiful.'
Pictures of the phone also began appearing at around the same time. Blogger Cory O'Brien, who took the clearest picture of the phone, praised the handset, saying: 'Google Phone = iPhone + a little extra screen and a scroll wheel. Great touch screen, and Android'
Google later confirmed on Saturday on their official Google Mobile Blog that employees had been given 'a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android', as part of a process they called 'dogfooding' - essentially, testing out their own products on their employees.
And today, Engadget uncovered that a phone known as the Nexus One had been submitted to the FCC, the United States' Federal Communications Commission, for approval.
Reports suggest that the phone will run on Qualcomm's speedy Snapdragon processor, and will have an OLED screen, and be capable of up to 7.2Mbps download speeds, and 2Mbps upload. It will be running Android 2.1, the latest version of the operating system.
No price details have been released but as no network subsidies are likely, the cost could be high compared to other similar handsets.
HTC make sense as a partner for Google on the project, as they've won widespread praise for the quality of their Android offerings, from the original HTC Dream (marketed as the G1) to the multi-award-winning Hero. The pictured Nexus Ones bear a remarkable similarity to leaked pictures of the upcoming, and highly anticipated, HTC Bravo.
Why would it make sense for the Android phone to be called a Nexus One? Well, sci-fi fans will recall that the androids (well, replicants) in Ridley Scott's classic film Blade Runner - based on Phillip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - were identified as 'Nexus 6' models.
It's not clear if this means that Google plans to push the phone in a less phone-like, more humanoid direction over its next five generations; however, if we were Harrison Ford, we'd probably be worried.