Google Phone Will Change the Cellphone Business Model: Unlocked and Contract Versions Offered
Over the weekend, Google sparked the firestorm of a new high-end phone that’s still making many analysts scratching their head to understand Google true intention moving forward..
By now all the news seem to suggest the phone is indeed coming soon. The phone hardware made by the Taiwanese HTC codenamed Nexus One, a variant of the HTC HD2 could be available directly though the Google website as early as January 5, according to the source of Reuters.
Google would sell direct an unlocked version of the new phone as it did previously with the G1 to developer channel but this time consumers can purchase at an undetermined price. Furthermore, the latest news indicated another version will be linked to Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile USA, which will subsidize the cost of the phone for U.S. consumers who agree to a service contract, the source said. Pricing details were not available.
"In the long term Google will become a seller and get commission from operators," the source said, adding that other operators are expected to follow T-Mobile’s lead eventually and agree to Google’s terms. The move is somewhat similar to Apple’s when it forced AT&T to agree to revenue sharing. Apple did change the business model and now Google seems to determine to do so.
The bold move, of course will disturb deeply the cellphone industry as Baird Research analyst Will Power said: "We expect the launch of a new competitive device to be directionally negative for most of the existing smart phone markers, including Apple, Research in Motion, Nokia Oyg, HTC, Motorola Inc, Palm Inc, Samsung and others, while perhaps most negative for the existing Android partners."
The future of Android alliance is uncertain with Google intention. Google has been an active member along with many handset makers by offering its open-source Android software as a freely available operating system for smart phones.
[Source Reuters]
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