Report: Google to Sell Android Smartphone to Public
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, December 14, 2009 · 
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Google plans to begin selling an Android-based smartphone directly to consumers as early as next month, according to published reports in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
Sources familiar with the matter say the phone will be based on GSM technology, and that the device, manufactured by the Taiwanese company HTC, is thinner than Apple’s iPhone, with a slightly larger touch screen. It is named Nexus One, according to various reports and digital traces that the phones have been leaving on Web sites.
The move is reportedly designed to offer Google the flexibility to distribute its own voice and data services without adhering to typical carrier restrictions.
Needless to say, if the rumor comes to fruition it could shake up the fundamentals of the cellphone market in the United States, where most phones are sold and subsidized by an individual wireless carrier, and designed to work only on its network.
Google confirmed Saturday that it is trialing a new mobile product: “We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe,” writes Google product management vice president Mario Queiroz on the Official Google Mobile Blog. “This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it.”
The New York Times has the full story.
Google’s blog mentions the trial.
Engadget has photos of the device.
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