Looks like Engadget has scored another exclusive gadget preview and this time it is the fabled real Google Phone that is actually called Nexus One and is made by HTC. In fact, has previous pictures have shown, the hardware is extremely similar to previous HTC Snapdragon phones. But this is all Google at work.
As mentioned earlier this phone is currenlty doing its rounds as a Google employees exclusive. They are calling it ‘Dogfooding’ which is mainly about tasting/testing your own produce before sending it out into the world. Details are clear — it is called the Nexus One, it is made by Google and there is a SnapDragon humming away in the belly of this device. And now we can take a close look, thanks to the good folks at Engadget.
The device is pretty thin and photos confirm this. There are not many physical buttons but there are permanent touch sensitive ones on the face. There is one physical button on the face and there is a volume rocker on the side. The phone identifies itself as the Nexus One in the photos and it is running a new version of the Android — 2.1. This new version adds new features to the UI. There are 3D elements in this version and a new grid icon at the bottom of the homescreen brings up a collection of preview cards for the pages on the homescreen, a la Palm WebOS. It also has Google Navigation, which is expected and Google Goggles — the visual search feature that was recently release. The big camera is probably going to help the phone to produce more readable images for visual search. It does look too big for a phone.
The back of the phone has a QR Code (covered by a sticker and hoisted by an Android), which Google is currently promoting as a means to identify physical locations on Google Maps. By photographing a QR code, you can automatically see all the details that are available online about the place.
There are no HTC logos on the device and it is pretty likely that it will be branded as Google when it reaches consumers some time early next year.
The packaging material has a manual that directs the user to google.com/phone/support. This page is not working right now but it does look like a good place to have a landing page for a Google Phone.
Everything said and done, there still remains the question of how Google’s partners are supposed to respond to this. This is an actual phone and not a Google Voice based VoIP device like Arrington was guessing earlier on. It is clearly running on T-Mobile and it is also apparently using WiFi. This is a fully featured current generation smartphone that is a true replacement for any of the top grade Android phones in the market (here’s looking at you Droid). However, there is the off chance that this is just another one of Google’s pet phones like the Droid was and they are simply showering it with all their love and affection till the next great thing comes along. May be this is the HTC Bravo that was leaked along with other HTC phones on the company’s official roadmap. But the this does not match the way the HTC Bravo looks in the images. So if and when the Nexus One makes it to the consumers, no one would be interested in the Bravo. Isn’t this shooting yourself in the foot HTC? And this will sold unlocked, which theoretically means a larger market penetration.
At least the mass market Android phones won’t be touched, which should be good news for manufacturers.
