Google plans to sell its own cell phone ‘Nexus One’ direct to consumers as soon as the early part of 2010.
Google’s strategy is to bypass wireless operators which is a rare marketing move.
But analysts say Google aims to to gain access to valuable consumer data that can be used to sell advertisements at premium prices, rather than to make money from direct hardware sales, as companies such as Nock or Research in Motion do.
Google began sharing a version of the Nexus One with its employees in recent days. A photo of what may be the device was posted on a Twitter photo-sharing site
‘Nexus One’ is made by smartphone maker HTC, the Taiwan-based world’s No. 4 smartphone brand, and will run on the search giant’s Android operating system — around which Motorola and other cell phone makers have built devices — and will be sold online.
Cellular service will have to be bought separately. The GSM-based phone would work on both AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal citing sources familiar with the matter as saying.
