Google plans to sell its own mobiles direct to consumers as soon as
next year, bypassing wireless operators in a rare strategic move, the
Wall Street Journal has reported, cited sources.
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, 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 per cent from 4.2 per cent 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.
