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Google - Source: Reuters -
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Google Inc plans to sell its own cellphone direct to consumers
as soon as next year, bypassing wireless operators in a rare
strategic move, the Wall Street Journal cited sources as saying on
Sunday.
Called the Nexus One and made by smartphone maker HTC, the phone
will run on the search giant's Android operating system - around
which Motorola and other cellphone makers have built devices - and
will be sold online, the newspaper cited persons familiar with the
matter as saying.
Cellular service will have to be bought separately, it added.
The Internet search leader may be sounding a challenge to wireless
carriers such as Sprint and Verizon, as well as smartphone makers
like Apple. It marks a departure for the leader in Web advertising,
which has rarely sold devices directly to consumers, the newspaper
said.
Google's Android phones have won attention in the mobile industry
lately, with Motorola and Sony Ericsson choosing to launch it with
their new top models.
Analysts say the aim is to gain access to valuable consumer data
that can be used to sell ads at premium prices, rather than to make
money from direct hardware sales, as companies such as Nokia or
Research in Motion do.
Research house IDC estimates the market share for Android operating
software rose to 5.4% from 4.2% in July-September in Western
Europe, a key market.
Executives at HTC, the Taiwan-based world's No. 4 smartphone brand,
were not available for comment. Google was also not available for
comment. Google began sharing a version of the Nexus One with
employees in recent days, the newspaper cited its sources as
saying.
