New Google Phone?

A Google company blog post over the weekend raised questions as to whether a new phone being tested by Google employees is just a way for employees to improve upon the Android operating system or is an actual prototype that will be released in 2010.

Numerous sources online have reported the device’s existence, including photos of a handset that resembles a cross between the HTC Hero and Passion, running Android 2.1. Few specs for the Nexus One are known; however, most reports suggest that the phone is an unlocked GSM device that will sell directly to consumers. Additionally, HTC has filed a report for the Nexus One with the FCC.

Ken Hyers, senior analyst for Technology Business Research, questions the logic of a solely Google-branded device. “What I find fascinating is the idea that they are just on the cusp of some really good success and now they’re going to go and compete with their own partners. I don’t think it’s wise,” Hyers said.

Hyers said that Google may see an opportunity to develop a device that connects to all of Google’s applications and services. However, he still finds the idea full of holes. “The great thing about an unlocked GSM phone is that you can take it anywhere. However, Nokia’s tried that in the United States and failed miserably,” he said.

“Nokia has had great success with the unlocked model in Europe. So maybe we shouldn’t look at this strictly from a U.S. viewpoint,” he said, noting that if the device is being developed for an international market, it would not be in direct U.S. competition with Google partners such as Motorola and HTC.

Chrome OS and Android may “merge” into one in the future.

+ = ?

Speaking at a press conference this week, ostensibly to discuss the new netbook platform but which covered various points of Google’s business, Schmidt and company founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page discussed the open-nature of the new platform. While in their initial blog post about Chrome OS they indicated that it and Android would remain separate, and that “choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google”, there now seems to be signs that the two will shift from parallel to integrated projects.

The trio also discussed the nature of open-source software and how they do not envisage Chrome OS as a direct competitor to Windows. In fact, Schmidt said, “Microsoft is welcome to put Internet Explorer on our operating system,” but that “it’s highly unlikely they would do it. They would have to port it and the port is not trivial … the ball is in their court.” Referring to Google’s well-known “do no evil” pledge, he highlighted the fact that because Chrome is open-source “even if we had an evil moment [to block out Microsoft], we would be unsuccessful.”

The first netbooks running Google Chrome OS are expected in the second half of 2010.

Google To Launch Chrome OS, Taking Aim At Windows

Even as Microsoft begins to make some headway against Google in Internet search, Redmond now finds the tables turned in the PC operating system business.

In short, Google has targeted a new market: Windows.

In a post to its corporate blog late Tuesday, the company announced a new project called the Google Chrome OS – the company’s “attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.”

The company said Google Chrome OS “is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks.” The new OS consists of a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel, the company said.

Later this year, Google said, it will open-source the code. Netbooks running the software will be available in the 2010 second half, according to Google, which said it is already talking to partners about the project.

Google already has developed one operating system – Android, which is targeted at mobile phones, and which itself is expected to be used in some netbooks. The company said the two are separate projects.

“Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android,” the company said on the blog post. “Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.”

Google said Chrome OS is intended to be fast, simple and secure. “The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web,” the company reports. “And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.”

The company said the software will work on both x86 and ARM chips.

SonyEricsson plans and Android Phone

The rise of the Android continues, as Sony Ericsson and Nokia are both preparing Android-powered mobile phones. Pictures and details have leaked of a Sony Ericsson handset named Rachel, while The Guardian reports Nokia is planning to unveil a handset at the Nokia World conference in September.

The Sony Ericsson handset is codenamed Rachel, so expect legions of copycat haircuts on other phones. Or maybe it’s named after Rachael, the robotic love interest in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Blade Runner. Android, get it?

Rachel is built on Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 platform, with a processor speed of up to 1GHz. If you want to stroke Rachel you’re in luck, as it’s reported to sport a giant 102mm (4-inch) touchscreen. It also includes an 8-megapixel camera complete with autofocus. More good news: there’s a 3.5mm headphone connector as well as the mini-USB port.

HTC is currently top droid with three phones, including the forthcoming Hero, wizardly Magic and the original G1. Other manufacturers appear to have been on a break from the Google operating system, but that’s set to change with the new phones from Son Eric, and possibly Nokia. Nokia has denied the rumour — after all the company has only recently launched its own app platform, the Ovi store. Meanwhile, Dell is rumoured to be developing an Android-based iPod touch-killer.

Also, possible SonyEricsson Android interface is spotted on unofficial SonyEricsson Blog:

HTC Fiesta Is Another Android Phone

More rumors hit the ground running – it seems that the Bluetooth SIG group have just revealed HTC’s 2009 lineup complete with details of certain handsets although they have kept mum on the upcoming HTC Fiesta, which points toward a 2010 release. All we do know about the upcoming Fiesta is it has received Bluetooth SIG approval, will be released across Asia, Europe and North America, and most importantly, run on Android. What do you think are the other specifications that will be included by HTC apart from the standard high-megapixel count camera, push e-mail support, etc?

Acer may release Android smartphone

The Philippine Business Mirror newspaper are today reporting that Acer are planning to launch their first Android powered handset in September of this year.

According to an unknown source from the Taiwanese company, the handset will be known as the ‘A1′ and will be one of four Acer handsets that will make their debut in September.

The A1, equipped with a touch screen, is among four handset models that Acer plans to debut that month, the person said, asking not to be identified because he’s not authorized to comment on the matter. Henry Wang, a spokesman at Taipei-based Acer, declined to comment. Marsha Wang, a spokesman at Google in Beijing, declined to immediately comment.

via businessmirror.com.ph

I must add that this article just landed in my inbox a few minutes ago, and up until that point i’d never heard of the Philippine Business Mirror newspaper. Their about us page does make them seem fairly credible, but faced with news from unknown official sources, who knows?

HTC to launch ‘at least’ three Google phones this year

High Tech Computer (HTC) will ship “at least” three smartphones this year that use Google’s Android software, HTC’s CEO said Tuesday.

HTC, already the largest maker of smartphones that use the Windows Mobile OS, was first to the market with an Android-based smartphone last year, when it teamed up with Google and T-Mobile to launch the G1 in the U.S.

The Taiwanese handset maker last month announced its second Google phone, the HTC Magic, or G2 as some are calling it. The handset is being sold first in Europe by Vodafone.

HTC will sell at least two more Google phones this year.

At the sidelines of a Merrill Lynch technology conference in Taipei, HTC CEO Peter Chou was asked whether or not a report saying HTC will market five Android-based handsets this year was true.

HTC will launch “at least” three, he replied, declining further comment on the matter.

HTC gained a march on smartphone rivals in using Google’s Android software by working with the popular U.S. company for three years on the software and compatible smartphones before launching the G1 last September. The G1 is also marketed under the name HTC Dream.

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Google G2 is coming out?

It appears the successor to the T-Mobile G1, the first smartphone based on the open-source Google Android mobile operating system, is coming soon.

Photos of what is suspected to be the new T-Mobile G2 were posted this morning on gadget blog Gizmodo.

According to the blog, the HTC-made device could be ready in May. The G2, while having some similarities to its predecessor, is much thinner and sacrifices the physical slide-out keyboard, one of the key features of the T-Mobile G1. In place of the keyboard, the G2 is expected to have a virtual keypad only, similar to the Apple iPhone. Additionally, the new G2 is shown as having a 3.2-megapixel camera and a touch-screen interface that Gizmodo’s sources said will be “very similar” to the G1.

T-Mobile released the original G1 in October, marking the first — and still only — Android-based device on the market. The T-Mobile G1 was a shot across the bow of the Apple iPhone 3G, which dominated the touch-screen smartphone scene. Since the iPhone’s release, several other touch-screen titans hit stores, including the G1 and BlackBerry’s first-ever touch screen, the BlackBerry Storm. The T-Mobile G1 was vaulted to success, mainly because it was the first to feature Android, and quickly became one of the coolest smartphones of 2008.

New Android devices are expected soon, but have yet to become commercially available. So far, manufacturers like Garmin, Motorola, NTT DoCoMo, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and others have been said to be readying Android-based devices.