By Benedict Wee
TechCrunch has once again gotten the scoop on the details about the "Super" Google Phone we reported on late last month and the details are pretty exciting.
The first juicy piece of news comes in the form of Twitter updates by Google employees who've just received the phones. One of them described the phone he was just given as "an iPhone on beautifying steroids" after explaining that the hardware is provided by HTC and is running Android 2.1 while another employee elaborated that the new Homescreen has visual enhancements like animated desktop wallpapers.
Other hardware details of the Google Phone include:
- an OLED touchscreen
- two mics (one to eliminate background noise)
- runs a Snapdragon processor
- no physical keyboard
- come with a large 5MP camera on its back
As mentioned before, the phone's hardware will be provided by HTC but it will not carry the phone manufacturer's branding and will be known only as a Google-branded phone. Apparently, leaked shots of the HTC mobile code-named "Passion" that have been seen around the internet is the phone in question.
What sets this phone apart from the other Android phones in the market right now is the way Google plans on selling them. The Google Phone will not be tied to any carrier and will be sold unlocked, which means that we could potentially import them from the US if the frequency bands they use are the same as ours in New Zealand. If successful, this marketing strategy poses to upset the telcos which depend on handset exclusivity and subsidization to attract consumers to use their carriers. Bad news for them but really good news for us as the telcos here aren't very generous when it comes to mobile subsidiaries and their contract terms are one of the worst in the developed world's.
Of course most of the information given have yet to be confirmed by Google and thus should be treated as rumors. We won't have long to wait however as some have mentioned that Google was planning on launching the phone this holiday season but somehow it got delayed and will now be making a January appearance instead. And with their employees already using the phone as you read this post, you can be sure that an announcement is looming just over the horizon. Best start saving that Christmas money now.
Update:
More details of the Google Phone have been crept online. Here are the details complied according to their site they were taken from.
Engadget: The FCC has a filing for a "NEXUSONE" phone built by HTC. This should be the Google Phone we've been hearing about unless HTC was ambitious enough to come up with another mobile amidst all this Google hoo-ha. The tech sites have thus begun to call the mobile a combination of names which include the words "Google", "Nexus One" and "Phone". Feel free to come up with whatever name combo you want.
BGR, TechCrunch & Engadget: Photos of the Google Nexus One Phone have been tweeted, confirming that the hardware/design of the mobile is the early-on reported HTC Passion. A helpful equation of what the phone is like, tweeted by one of the employees goes:
"Google Phone = iPhone + a little extra screen and a scroll wheel. Great touch screen, and Android."
Engadget: Has gotten exclusive shots of the phone. Note the updated OS features like 3D elements to the app tray, more Homescreens (which can be navigated via the grid icon at the bottom), and a newly designed lock screen.
Sources:
