Ultrabrief: Rumour: The Google Phone has a name: Nexus One

Sunday, December 13, 2009 5:20

The Wall Street Journal, in their old journalism way of working, has gathered up what the internet has been talking about over the past 24 hours, without linking to their sources, and made a neat and concise article explaining the situation behind the “Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Phone”. If you’re been reading IntoMobile today then you’re familiar with the drama, but I digress, here is the link to the article, and here are the quotes you should care about:

“The phone is called the Nexus One and is being manufactured for Google by HTC.”

“The Internet giant is taking a new, and potentially risky, approach to selling the device. Rather than selling the phone through a wireless carrier–the way the bulk of phones are sold in the U.S. today–Google plans to sell the Nexus One itself online. Users will have to buy cellular service for the device separately.”

“The move could alienate wireless carriers and handset makers that offer Android phones and do not want to compete with Google.”

“The move also marks a rare foray into direct sales for Google. With the exception of an appliance it markets as a search tool to businesses, the company hasn’t sold hardware in the past.”

PS: If the link to the article doesn’t work, then click the first link in these search results. It’s a neat trick to get around The Wall Street Journal’s paywall.

[Hat tip to @atmasphere]

Update: John Gruber, a huge Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) fan who has a good track record at getting rumours right, just tweeted this: “The bummer I’m hearing about Nexus One: it’s GSM and unlocked, but on T-Mobile (NYSE: DT)’s 3G band, so it works on AT&T but EDGE-only.”

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