Google’s Nexus One Revolution
In a bid to shake up the wireless industry, Google announced Tuesday a new phone based on its mobile platform, Android, and the opening of a Google-hosted Web store to sell it. The move will enable the Web giant to deliver its mobile software to consumers more quickly and–eventually–at a lower cost than current operators do, said Andy Rubin, Google’s vice president of mobile platforms.
As the first phone to ship with the latest version of Android (2.1, also known as éclair), the Nexus One also boasts some flashy software. The phone’s photo gallery and “application launcher” boast three-dimensional graphics, making the latter resemble a scrolling wheel. Much of the phone is voice-enabled, meaning users can speak to the phone and have their words translated into text, in the form of a command or a message, such as an e-mail. Google’s 3D mapping program, Google Earth, is also being adapted for use on Nexus One, complete with its popular “bird’s eye view” viewing angle.
Google says the device is intended to serve as an exemplar of Android’s potential. It is calling the Nexus One a “super phone” to distinguish it from other smart phones.
Though it will likely be dwarfed by Nexus One’s glitz, the real import of Google’s announcement is its new approach to buying and selling phones. With the launch of its online phone store, Google is becoming a retailer, of sorts. Consumers will be able to purchase certain Android phones and sign up for cellular service plans directly from the site. In the U.S., consumers can select from a subsidized phone from T-Mobile, an unsubsidized phone on AT&T, or a subsidized phone on Verizon Wireless later this spring. European shoppers can get an unlocked phone or, if they’re willing to wait a few months, a cheaper device on a Vodafone plan.
By offering a simple and ubiquitous–who doesn’t have access to Google?–alternative to carrier stores, Google is upending the way people have long purchased cellphones.
Google says it simply wants to increase options for consumers and drive more eyeballs to its Web site and related services. “We see [the store] as another channel [for buying phones],” said Rubin during the company’s Tuesday press conference. “It’s not intended to replace other channels … our primary business is advertising.”
Nevertheless, it’s clear Google intends to keep pounding on the wireless industry.
The company says it will commission more Android devices to sell in its online store. It’s not clear whether these phones would also be available through other channels, such as carriers and third-party retailers. Google also recently revealed it is still working with the Federal Communications Commission to turn wireless spectrum known as “white spaces” into a low-cost way for consumers to access wireless broadband. Since opening up that spectrum would allow people to jump online with phones, computers or other Web-enabled devices without signing up–or paying for–data plans, white spaces have been interpreted as another end-run around carriers.
