Internet buzz surrounding the shadowy new "Google Phone" became a full-blown cacophony over the weekend after Google employees began Tweeting about demo versions they'd received. Google has since officially confirmed the phone's existence, while declining to weigh in on whether it will, as rumored, be called "Nexus One" and go on sale as early as Jan. 5. Of particular note: According the the Wall Street Journal, Google will sell the phone directly to consumers, bypassing wireless carriers (Although T-Mobile will also distribute it non-exclusively.) Will the "Nexus One" turn the smartphone war on its head?
The "Google Phone" changes everything: "It's hard to overstate just how radically this changes the landscape," says Matt Buchanan at Gizmodo. Google is not the first company to try selling a phone "unlocked" — i.e. without being programmed for a specific wireless provider — in America. But given its vast corporate resources, the move sends a "powerful message" to the industry: "Google is in this to win."
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