On Jan 5th, Google announced it’s first piece of hardware, the Nexus One phone. This is a pretty momentous event, being Google’s first foray into producing something physical that you can hold in the palm of your hand. In essence, this positions Google as more of a direct competitor to the current top of the gadget pile, Apple. Mobile phones powered by Android, Google’s open-source operating system, have been making significant inroads into the smartphone marketplace, until now dominated by Apple’s iPhone.
Android phones are excellent devices for companies or individuals that use Google Apps to manage their email, calendar, contacts, documents and intranets/extranets. The integration is very tight, and achieved in a matter of seconds during the device initialisation process. This makes Android phones a realistic competitor not only to the iPhone, but also to the standard-setter of the corporate market – Blackberry.
It remains to be seen having the Google name behind it will cause the Nexus One to take off in the same way the iPhone did. My best guess is that it will increase the acceptance of Android in the marketplace, and may well become the leading Android handset. I also think that this is Google’s goal. Without the Nexus One, the future of Android cannot be absolutely guaranteed. With Google prominent on the shelves, the future seems secure.
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