Google unveils Nexus One phone

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on January 5, 2010 at 5:42 PM

Google today revealed its new mobile phone, the Nexus One, the launch of which Wired pointed out is a shift from the online giant's "original stance as a neutral distributor" of the Android mobile operating system, which could be used on different handsets and via different mobile carriers. With the launch of Nexus One, Google is now "competing with the very manufacturers that use its OS."

In the United States, the Nexus One will run on T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, which will be the first mobile carrier to offer a plan for it; however, consumers will be able to buy it directly via a Google Web site. In the spring, Verizon Wireless will also offer a plan, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Image: via Google

The pricetag on an unlocked Nexus One is a steep US$530, and once a phone is purchased, Google is in the position "to control [the purchaser's] relationships with network carriers," according to Wired.

However, customers can also pay $180 for the phone if they sign a two-year contract with T-Mobile.

At the phone's unveiling at Google's Mountain View, California headquarters, Google Vice President Mario Queiroz called the Nexus One a "superphone," and along with other panelists (including HTC CEO Peter Chou, Motorola Co-CEO Sanjay Jha and mobile expert Andy Rubin) "took pains to deflect concerns that Google has shifted course with its Android OS, or that Google could muddy the waters for its current wireless industry partners by selling its own branded device," a PC Mag report stated.