TechTreak

The long-rumored Google Nexus One phone is now a reality with Reuters news agency reporting that the phone will be launched on January 5, 2010.

The Google Phone was initially released to employees who tweeted and otherwise sent out rumors and pictures of the new product. The Wall Street Journal was one of the first major news agencies to report that Google Employees were using a prototype Nexus One.

HTC hardware?

Although much of the information now is still largely unconfirmed, there are reports that the Nexus One will use HTC hardware similar to that found in the HTC Passion. The Google Phone is basically an iPhone like device but even thinner in dimension.

Click past the jump for more…

The Nexus One display is a high-resolution OLED touchscreen. The phone uses a Snapdragon processor, and it is a GSM device compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile services. Google’s Android based phones have sold well and are marketed by wireless carriers. Interestingly the Nexus One will now compete directly with Android based phones.

Nexus One features

According to the reports, the Nexus One is very similar to the iPhone with a slightly larger screen, and of course, equipped with the Android open source mobile operating system. The Google Phone will use Android 2.1 according to news spreading out over the net.

Google Phone Price

Reuters reports that the Nexus One will sell for $199 unlocked in stores and with a $100 online rebate if you have a current or old account with Google. The phone will be sold on Google’s online phone store and is carrier free. You can use it with the Android Marketplace, or with AT&T or T-Mobile prepaid SIM cards for $29 a month.

The super high resolution AMOLED touchscreen is said to measure 3.5 inches or 3.7 inches and the display is powered by an Adreno 200 Graphics Core with OpenGLES 2.0. There is no actual keyboard, so the phone will likely be controlled mostly with the touchscreen only, although there is also a voice to text feature. The Nexus One has two microphones to help eliminate background clutter, and an Audience A1026 Noise Canceling Chip. Audio is routed to the Speakerphone with back mic. According to the reports, you will be able to dictate text including emails by speaking into the phone.

Nexus One Camera

The phone’s camera is very large and is said to be equipped with white balance, flash, auto focus and anti-banding technologies. The Nexus One phone camera is reportedly 5-megapixels with LED.

Powerful processor

The 1Ghz Snapdragon processor is about twice as fast as the Motorola Droid CPU. The fast processing speed will help power games on the Google Phone, which comes with OpenGl ES 2.0 support.

Nexus One’s Android 2.1 OS displays a grid icon on the bottom of the screen that displays a card-style preview of all the homescreen pages when pressed. There is also a scroll wheel similar to that found on new Blackberry PDAs to help you navigate more easily through user interfaces.

In appearance, the Google Phone closely resembles the HTC Passion or HTC Dragon, which are also scheduled to hit the market in early 2010.

Google phones will have a stereo FM Tuner and Wifi Radio through Bluetooth with support for 801.11n and both FM Tx and Rx.

Android platform

We can reasonably expect that Google will be able to do some things with the Android OS that have not be seen yet with other Android based handsets.

Google scooped up Android in 2005, and the mobile operating system based on the Linux kernel has become very popular since it was launched in 2007 together with the Open Handset Alliance. As the software is open source, developers can create applications for use on the Android platform in a manner similar to the open development of iPhone apps.

Reports are that Google is emphasizing VOIP telephony over voice or SMS texting services. Not surprising given that Google is an internet based company, but another source of friction with competitors. Google Voice on the pre-paid DATA SIM cards will handle voice calls with unlimited free service. Instead of texting, Nexus One will offer unlimited free Gtalk, Google’s video and voice chat service that works over the internet and allows sending and receiving of files.

The Nexus One phone will come with roaming data services internationally so that if you travel abroad you can conveniently access other networks. For example, if you travel to Europe you can hook on HSDPA data services for 20 euros a month, or you can pay just for your usage for more limited stays.

Google’s objectives

Many tech observers have commented that Google’s move into the hardware market is an attempt to gain more control in the high tech industry. Of course, this can also bring some suspicion and charges of monopolization. Google has already faced such resistance in relation to the Google Books service from libraries, publishers and writers.

Apple, of course, made a similar move with the launch of the iPhone handset, which projected Apple’s computer-making strength into the area of mobile handsets.

With the increasing popularity of mobile devices, especially among the younger generation, Google’s move comes as no surprise to most analysts. Given that Google already has a vast customer base, many of whom are very satisfied with Google products, the success of the Nexus One seems almost assured. Of course, we will have to wait and see how the system actually performs. Not everything Google touches has turned to gold. For example, some can cite Google’s forays into social networking, which never reached the levels of Facebook or Twitter.

However, given the popularity of the Android operating system, and the fact that Google is using proven HTC hardware technology, it is hard to see how this can go wrong. No doubt that Apple’s strategy teams are working hard to figure out how to counter the presence of this new player on the block. Consumers should benefit from the ensuing competition from the two high tech giants as they battle for supremacy!