Google to welcome new year with smartphone

NEW YORK, INDIA: Apple's iPhones will have a big competition on their hands as Google is set to launch its much discussed smart phone next week.

The new smart phone, Nexus One, may be unveiled Jan 5 when the Internet search engine giant holds a media briefing about its smart phone business at its Mountainview headquarters in California. The Google-branded device will use its latest Android operating system called Anrdoid 2.1.

Android is already being used in more than a dozen smart phones by many vendors, including Motorola and Samsung.

The Google smart phone will compete directly with Apple's popular iPhones in Internet browsing as well as playing video games.

Though the world's second biggest company, valued at more than $196 billion, has mentioned the upcoming briefing as "an Android press gathering," it has not confirmed whether the rumoured smart phone will actually be unveiled that day.

The Nexus One is likely to have a 3.7-inch AMOLED (active matrix organic light emitting diode) touch screen.

AMOLED, which is a bright display technology, needs no backlighting for the device to function. Since there is no backlight, touch screen looks brighter.

The Google GSM smart phone will also have a 5-megapixel camera and Wi-Fi connectivity.

According to mobile industry bloggers, Google may sell the smart phone unlocked, thus not locking buyers in long-term contracts with carriers.

The Google briefing is being held just two days ahead of the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas where global giants like Sony and Microsoft unveil their products for the next year.