The Google Phone: Risks, rewards and wild cards

The fabled Google Phone made an appearance over the weekend and it’s another iPhone killer, grand experiment for the search giant or a way to rewrite the wireless pecking order. Here’s a look at the risks, rewards and wild card associated with Google’s phone, dubbed Nexus One.

First, a little background (Techmeme). Google on Saturday said on its mobile blog that is handing out a snazzy phone loaded with an uncompromised version of its Android operating system. The move was all about Google eating is own Android dogfood. The device combines “innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities.”

It didn’t take long for pictures of this Google phone to hit Twitter. The Wall Street Journal then followed up with a few more tidbits.

Among them:

> Google’s Nexus One will up the ante vs. Apple;

> HTC will make the device;

> The device won’t be tethered to any carrier and Google will sell it online;

> Google wanted to control the hardware, software and user experience completely.

So what is Google up to with Nexus One? The answers are a little fuzzy, but here’s a crack at Google’s calculus behind launching a phone that could alienate partners, drive wireless innovation and alter the competitive landscape among other things.

Read more about the Google phone at: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=28432&tag=nl.e539