MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Google Inc. on Tuesday unveiled its boldest effort yet in the market for advanced mobile phones used to connect to the Internet: a new device seen as a potential challenger to Apple Inc.’s wildly popular iPhone, which the Mountain View, Calif.-based company will sell directly.
The new phone, dubbed Nexus One, is being manufactured by Taiwanese company HTC. But the device is based on Google software and was designed in tandem with the Internet search giant.
While a number of devices based on Google’s software have been released previously, the Nexus One represents a significant challenge to the established model of selling mobile phones. That’s because Google is taking a direct role in selling the Nexus One, including “unlocked” versions that aren’t provided with service plans from specific cell phone carriers.
In a relatively unfamiliar role for the company, Google is selling the Nexus One through an online store starting Tuesday, where both unlocked versions and those provided with service from T-Mobile USA Inc. are available. Google said that versions with support from Verizon Wireless in the U.S., and from Vodafone Group in Europe will be available in the spring.
Apple’s iPhone is currently provided exclusively in the U.S. with service from AT&T Inc.
“The Nexus One belongs in an emerging category of devices which we call superphones,” said Google executive Mario Quedas, adding that it’s “an exemplar of what’s possible on mobile phones.”
In a demonstration, Google executives showed off features on the Nexus One including voice-activated email, and interactive, dynamic wallpaper designs.
Google’s Quedas said that an unlocked Nexus One phones will be sold for $529, and that the model could theoretically be used on both T-Mobile’s and AT&T’s networks in the U.S.
A Nexus One version sold with a service plan exclusively on T-Mobile is available for $179.
Quedas said that Google anticipates providing the device with more operators in the future, while new models from companies including Motorola Inc. are also expected.