Editor's note: This was a live blog from Jim Goldman who attended a news conference at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California where the company unveiled its smartphone, the Nexus One. You can read how the news conference unfolded in real time by starting at the bottom of this post and reading up.
2:38 PM/ET: have the phone in hand, running to the truck and I'll show it to everyone at 250EST on CNBC's Street Signs.
Thanks for reading!!
2:17 PM/ET:Google will start by selling this phone online, and it's not clear what other handsets it might or might not sell through its webstore.
2:15 PM/ET: Also, this is merely the first Super Phone. There will be others, and if consumers want a real keypad, they'll get one. Designers will incorporate them.
2:14 PM/ET: Question about the physical keyboard, or lack thereof, in Nexus One. Peter Chou of HTC says they'll offer a product portfolio of various devices. He says this version of a touch screen is the best he's seen. Not to mention the voice-control software as well.
2:11 PM/ET:Correction: "Teetering" in the last post should be "tethering."
2:10 PM/ET: Device will support Wi-fi and teetering to a PC is still under consideration.
2:09 PM/ET: Where is the revenue model? Rubin says Google's primary business is advertising. The Super Phone is a great way to access the web, and that's good for advertising, and that's next front for Google's core business.
2:08 PM/ET: How does Google expect to become a successful "retailer?" Mario says we shouldn't focus on retailing. It's about working handset partners, showcasing our software, and giving consumers choice. Retailing is important, but it's merely another channel, not the only one.
2:04 PM/ET: Why did Google feel the need to design a phone? Rubin says HTC designed this phone and Google is just marketing it.
2:03 PM/ET: Regarding Android marketing: it'll be largely online. Focus will be on using all online tools.
2:02 PM/ET: Andy Rubin says there is no message to iPhone users. Choice is good, he says. Period.
2:01 PM/ET: If you have an ATT GSM simcard , you can buy the Nexus One, pop it in, and use it as of today. However, the phone will run on EDGE speeds, and not 3G.
2:00 PM/ET: First question: why only 512MB for apps storage? Andy Rubin says it will expand. Phone ships as of today.
1:59 PM/ET: On stage now for some Q&A is Mario Queiroz, Andy Rubin, Peter Chou, and Sanjay Jha from Motorola was supposed to be here, but he's stuck in traffic. Ugh.
1:57 PM/ET: Showing a video now of the phone. Looks like a TV commercial, but it's not clear this will run as an actual commercial. Seems too long to be a TV ad, but I'm sure you'll be seeing this all over the web.
1:55 PM/ET: Recapping now. Nexus One is the first of a series of phones that Google is working on with its partners, including HTC and Motorola.
1:54 PM/ET: That quick, that easy, says Google to order up the phone from a Google hosted webstore. It launches in the US, but test markets include the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong.
1:52 PM/ET: All of these versions, plans and pricing will be available through the Google webstore. And shoppers will be able to use Google CheckOut to pay for it.
1:51 PM/ET: The Verizon version will be available in the Spring. Some people are very excited to buy a CDMA phone from Verizon, he says. Vodaphone will also make Nexus One available in Spring.
1:51 PM/ET: An unlocked Nexus One phone will cost $529. The T-Mobile version will cost $179 with 2-year contract.
1:50 PM/ET: Now showing screen shots of the webstore. Still awaiting pricing, though Mario says it'll be comparable to high-end smart phones already on the market, on a subsidized basis.
1:48 PM/ET:Verizon Wireless and Vodaphone will be offering this phone.
1:47 PM/ET: Through the webstore, you can buy a phone with service, it'll be subsidized and available today from T-Mobile . The Google webstore is at www.google.com/phone
1:46 PM/ET: Mario back on stage. "Welcome to the Super Phone class." How to bring it to market? A new way to purchase a phone: a Google hosted online store.
1:45 PM/ET: Voice meets Google Earth! Say "Mt. Fuji" and the phone "flies" you to striking imagery of the mountain. That's pretty cool. (I hope this thing has amazing battery life.)
1:41 PM/ET: Highlighting voice recognition and text to speech. From getting phone numbers to directions, but now Google offers total voice enabling for every text field on the phone.
1:38 PM/ET: Working with Cool Iris, Google unveils "Gallery," a beautiful photo gallery management program, that let's the photos even interact with the device's accelerometer. Multiple ways of viewing the images on the screen.
1:36 PM/ET: Now talking digital media and entertainment and 3D. App Launcher has a neat interface. The way the apps move up and down on the screen. Think the opening sequence of Star Wars, the way the words traveled on the screen.
1:34 PM/ET: More personalization: Live Wallpaper is very cool. Dynamic, moving, sitting behind all the other apps. And its interactive. Customization, personalization. Showing a water surface interacting with falling leaves and rippling. Neat.
1:33 PM/ET: Personalization with home screen environments and widgets. Decided to add more home screen panels. Now have 5 available. News and Weather widget gives you latest news. Very slick. GPS tells the phone —and the weather widget — exactly where you are giving you precise location-base weather data.
1:31 PM/ET: Now talking software.
Android 2.1 is on Nexus One. First available on Verizon Droid's device. Facebook integration with one-click. Quick Contacts with just one tap.
1:29 PM/ET: 3.5mm headphone jack, active noise cancellation, two mics — front and back —very cool. A great voice experience. The metal bezel around the phone's perimeter allows for engraving to personalize the device.
Hardware is only half the story though.
1:28 PM/ET: Looking at the phone's back, Nexus One camera is 5 megapixels with an LED flash that takes stills and videos. One click uploading to youtube.
1:27 PM/ET: Neat little color coded trackball as well. Battery sensor technology, a compass, GPS, accelerometer, light sensor battery management for the screen. Very slim: 11.5mm thin, weighs 130 grams.
1:25 PM/ET: The Nexus One hardware: 3.7 inch OLED display. Deep contrasts, brilliant colors he says. 1GHz Snapdragon chip from Qualcomm . That's the fastest version of this chip on the market. Palm's Snapdragon runs at 600 MHz.
1:23 PM/ET: Now a closer look at the phone's capabilities with product engineer Erick Tseng.
1:22 PM/ET: Chou is congratulating Google and HTC teams. He's holding the phone for a photo opp. A VERY brief one.
1:21 PM/ET: We are running tape out to our truck so we can get this announcement on the air. So far, they haven't "held" on stage. All images are from a screen on stage. They will give us a phone to play with at the conclusion of the event.
1:20 PM/ET: So far, HTC has shipped 7 Android products, including now the Nexus One.
1:19 PM/ET: HTC CEO Peter Chou is now on stage.
1:19 PM/ET: "We're really excited, extremely excited."
1:18 PM/ET: Nexus One belongs in an emerging category Google calls "Super Phones."
1:18 PM/ET: But Google wanted to do more: Today we're announcing the Nexus One! A point of convergence, a means of connection, where web meets phone.
1:17 PM/ET: Going through the list of Android handsets. To help Android adapt to needs of consumers, applied engineering resources at Google to increase pace and rate of innovation. Volume, quality of Android phones exceed our expectations.
1:16 PM/ET: He says the open platform and open marketplace enables innovation. That concludes his brief history recap.
Now talking about the next step in Android's evolution.
1:15 PM/ET: From the beginning, says Queiroz says Android has been developer friendly, offered lower manufacturing costs, faster to market, and "always on" apps.
1:14 PM/ET: 20 devices, 59 carriers in 48 countries and 19 languages all on Android. That's significant given the age of all this. In 2009, 4 major Android software releases.
1:12 PM/ET: Mario Queiroz, Google VP, continuing, and says Android is a major player in mobile web searching.
Google Mobile Searching up 5x since Android.
1:09 PM/ET: Talking about the development of Android, faster browsing, multiple email accounts, better contact management. Spotlighting the Motorola Droid .
1:08 PM/ET: Google now talking about the early stages of the Open Handset Alliance, starting with 33 members, growing to over 50 and 11 new members, including China Telecom, as of today.
1:06 PM/ET: Event beginning: Mike Nelson welcoming us.
12:56 PM/ET: Hey all, welcome to the LiveBlog of the Google presser.
Inside Bldg. 43, upstairs. Small, intimate, maybe 100 invited guests at tables. Small stage, four chairs and a demo screen. And 11 camera crews.
Should be starting soon.
Editor's Note: This is a live blog from Jim Goldman who is attending a news conference at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California where the company is expected to officially unveil its smartphone, The Nexus One.
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