The rumored Google-branded smartphone is a reality and could be made available as early as January 5, according to a source familiar with the matter. Google will be marketing two versions of its own cell phone, one with a service contract with T-Mobile, and another that is "unlocked," the source said (via Reuters).
The T-Mobile version will subsidize the cost of the phone for U.S. consumers. While the phone is said to be similar to the iPhone, it has some additional features, such as an exchangeable battery, a slightly larger screen, and the ability to add a memory card to the phone.
An analyst from Baird Research said he expects the launch of a competitive smartphone device to be “directionally negative” for most of the existing smartphone marketers - but may perhaps be the most negative for the existing Android partners. To date, more than a dozen smartphones are available with Android software.
Dec. 14: Google Guns for its Own Piece of the Smartphone Market
Speculation is high that Google is stepping up its presence in the mobile phone industry by rolling out its own smartphone device. Talk of such a move has been circulating for months; Google has always issued the denials in response. However a new Google blog post, plus a widely circulated report of the search engine giant partnering with phone maker HTC on a "super" Android device has convinced legions of tech watchers that this is indeed Google's next step.
Advertising Implications
For advertisers - especially companies placing ads on the iPhone and Android mobile platforms - the implications are profound. If Google is stepping into this space with its own device, it will surely offer new platforms and incentives for advertisers that will stretch across all of its properties. The Google blog post reveals little about the company's intentions, other than a device is likely in the making.
"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," it said. "This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it."
Early 2010
The release date for the "Googlephone" is said to be early 2010 with a major advertising campaign supporting it phone expected as early as January 2010. (via PC World). Google is expected to sell its phone directly to customers and retailers, instead of inking a deal with a network partner. That means the Google phone could cost as much as $500 - unless Google subsidizes it - and would have to run on a SIM-friendly GSM networks such as AT&T and T-Mobile, PC World points out.
The iPhone
A Googlephone is certain to alienate device manufacturers that have taken a gamble on the Android. How Google repairs those relationships will be a key development to watch - as will the obvious competition between the iPhone and the Googlephone. At first glance it would appear to be a lopsided battle between a first-release phone from a company that has never dabbled in hardware before and the wildly popular iPhone.
However there are cracks forming in the iPhone's formidable image - cracks that Google may well exploit. New data suggests that AT&T's much maligned failure to support the intense data needs of iPphone users may in fact be the fault of the iPhone's design, according to the New York Times.
Roger Entner, senior vice president for telecommunications research at Nielsen, said the iPhone's "air interface" - the electronics in the phone that connect it to the cell towers, have shortcomings that affect both voice and data. However, in the eyes of the consumer, Entner told the Times "the iPhone has the nimbus of infallibility, ergo, it's AT&T’s fault."
AT&T does not publicly defend itself because it will not criticize Apple under any circumstances, he said.
