01/05/2010
TheStreet.com
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (TheStreet) — As promised, today Google (GOOG Quote) introduced what it calls the next step in mobile phones with its Nexus One phone. In a surprise move, it named No.1 telco Verizon (VZ Quote) as one of its future service partners.
The Nexus One will be available through Verizon sometime this spring for $179 at Google’s new online store. The phone is also available today via the site and can be used with T-Mobile’s service. Unlocked Nexus One phones without a service plan are priced at $529.
Google executives spent the early portion of the press event thanking partners like HTC, Samsung and Motorola (MOT Quote) — companies that have helped develop phones on the Android operating system. The gesture was somewhat of an awkward acknowledgement that Google is aware that it’s encroaching on the phone makers’ turf with its own phone.
The Nexus One runs on Qualcomm’s (QCOM Quote) SnapDragon one-gigahertz processor, a faster chip than what powers the current crop of smartphones including Apple’s (AAPL Quote) iPhone and Palm’s (PALM Quote) Pre. The phone also has a 3.7-inch LED touchscreen and a 5-megapixel camera.
“The Nexus One is an exemplar of what’s possible with Android,” Google executives said during the Web cast of the press event, adding that the phone was part of an emerging category it calls “superphones.”
The phone runs on the most advanced Android software called version 2.1 and features five home screens for users to customize and flip through along with an animated wall paper.
These customization features are intended to highlight the more restricted home screens on phones like Apple’s iPhone.
One new feature is voice recognition-to-text. Google demonstrated the service, which transcribes spoken words into a typed messages, allowing for more hands-free use. Until now, Google has used this technology in its navigation application to search for locations and directions. At the event, Google showed how the voice recognition works by summoning an image of Mount Fuji via its Google Earth app, then composed a text message.
Google will also sell the Nexus One for Vodafone customers in Europe later this spring and promised that it will name other telco partners in the months to come.
