Sing it: Oh, the Google phone's a-comin' so they say...

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 14 December 2009 09:22

Opinion and Analysis

Oh, the Google phone's a-comin' so they say, oh the Google phone's a-comin', yeah the Google phone's a-comin', oh the Google phone's a-comin' so they say.

Google's gPhone will be coming round the mountain when it comes sometime early next year, and aside from the endless and frenzied speculation on Apple's iTablet/iPad/iPhone Pro/iBook device and its potential iClones, the apparent upcoming January 2010 availability Google's very own smartphone is the hottest news this side of Mercury - in the daytime.

Billed as the "Nexus One", it will be Google's first own-branded device, and the rumours say that the phone will be offered outright, unsubsidised by any carrier, something that could mean a higher price than US consumers are used to.

Buying a phone without a contract is more common in other parts of the world, including Australia, but that said, subsidised phones are still a very popular option in many places around the world, allowing carriers to offer $0 phones with a two year contract. 

Said to have a larger screen and thinner profile than the current iPhone 3GS, we definitely know who Google is gunning for, but even without knowing just what magic Apple and Steve Jobs have in store for the presumed mid-2010 "iPhone 4G" launch,  the Nexus One is getting a lot of attention, even though Google previously denied ever wanting to make its own phone.

HTC is said to be working deeply within Google itself to help build the Nexus One, and as it will be Google's own phone, HTC branding will be absent, thus directly pitting Google against its existing OEM phone partners for the first time.

Previously, Google had taken a very Microsoft view of the smartphone world - use partners to build phones and supply the reference designs, while also letting them do some customisation.

Google had reserved use of its own "Google" logo on unmodified HTC phones running Android, "punishing" carriers who wanted to make changes to Android or the supplied software by disallowing use of the Google branding, so it's not as if Google hasn't gone down this path before, it's just now going the extra logical step.

After all, the original T-Mobile G1 gPhone was Google's first Android OS device, and a lot of water has gone under the bridge since, with Apple and Google becoming ever fiercer competitors.

Just as Apple has full control over its devices and destiny, beyond the activities of Dev Teams who hack the iPhone, Apple TV and the Mac, Google wants it too, and the best way it can ensure it offers a device to its own exacting specifications is by building one, even if it is with a partner who will presumably continue building its own competing versions.

HTC has its own advanced TouchSense UI that it is rolling out across its Windows Mobile and now Android platforms. Samsung has its TouchWiz UI that it already offers on multiple platforms, although it did not do so in its recent Android Icon model which instead was essentially stock Android standard.

So, given that phone manufacturers want to customise things their way, as has happened with Android thus far, it makes sense for Google to go the extra step and create its own smartphone now and compete with Apple directly on its own terms, in addition to the efforts of its OEM partners.

What of the interface and the apps? And how soon before we see a Nexus Two? Please read on to page 2...