A new report from mobile analytics firm Flurry reveals some interesting numbers about Google’s first attempt to sell its own custom branded Android device, an HTC-built phone called the Nexus One. It’s a flop. After 74 days, the same amount of time it took the original iPhone to sell its first million units, the Nexus One sold only 135,000.

But before you read too much into these numbers, thinking that it has any meaning with regard to the Android ecosystem as a whole, think again. Android market share is growing fast – it more than doubled from September to December of last year, for example. Oh, and the Droid, Android’s fastest-selling phone to date? It actually beat the iPhone by day 74, Flurry says. All this new data shows is that Google is no Apple when it comes to marketing their own device.

Not 24 hours after Steve Jobs told his minions that Google’s Don’t Be Evil mantra was “B.S.” (or “crap” depending on who you listen to) Google answers by pushing out an Android update to Nexus One users that includes multi-touch (and other Android goodness).

Google, up until yesterday, left multi-touch off its U.S. Android phones, presumably in deference to Apple’s multi-touch patent.

It was also rumored that Apple asked Google not to release multitouch in the U.S. to avoid the IP aggression we’ve seen it take against Palm for including multi-touch in the Pre.

I’m not saying that Google released the Nexus One multi-touch update because of Jobs’ comments, but it may have been pushed out a little sooner because of them.

More evidence of how the relationship between Apple and Google has chilled lately.

The N1 update takes the Android/iPhone battle to a new level and frankly, the ball’s in Apple’s court. Jobs promised that the next iPhone would be A+ and that Android won’t be able to keep up with it.

Them’s fighting words, Steve!

If Apple doesn’t address a majority of the items on my iPhone wishlist (background apps, voice search, improved home/lock screens, widgets, etc.) with its “A+” release we’ll know that Jobs was just trash-talking and that Android has clearly taken the lead in the smartphone wars.

Note: Impatient Nexus One owners can force the firmware update by following this technique. It preserves your data and apps and doesn’t require root access.

[via ZDNet]

Developer Cyanogen has modified Google’s Android 2.1 mobile operating system to endow Google’s Nexus One smartphone with multitouch, which lets users navigate the device with more than one finger at once. The absence of this function has been a the source of great consternation for some users, and many speculate the reasons are legal in nature. Some believe Apple has locked down multitouch patents and guards them. Erick Tseng, product manager of Android at Google, attempted to clarify Google’s position when in an interview with Engadget.

A developer has modified Google’s Android 2.1 mobile operating system to endow Google’s Nexus One smartphone with multitouch, which lets users navigate the device with more than one finger at once.

Wired found out that Steve Kondik, whose developer handle is Cyanogen, Jan. 21 released files and code to enable fellow developers to add multitouch to the device.  
Google began selling through its Webstore Jan. 5 and users quickly noticed that multitouch was not active on the device. Pinch-to-zoom, popularized by Apple’s iPhone, is the most common multitouch use case.

Many Android smartphone users want their Android devices to be the iPhone without actually being an iPhone. In other words, they want a quality smartphone that isn’t made by Apple and ruled by its Draconian application farm.

Some Android devices, such as the Android 1.6- based HTC Droid Eris, was released to the market with active pinch-to-zoom capability. However, neither the Android 2.0-based Motorola Droid nor the 2.1-based Nexus One were released with active pinch-to-zoom.

The absence of this function has been a the source of great consternation for some users, and many speculate the reasons are legal in nature.

Some believe Apple has locked down multitouch patents and guards them. However, Google Android creator Andy Rubin has said Google would consider activating multitouch on the Nexus One in the future.

Multitouch on the Nexus One looks like this.  However, there are two caveats to Kondik’s solution, one trivial, one serious. Kondik said hackers who modify their Nexus One will initially lose their bookmarks and browser settings by doing this. Second, hacking the phone could also void its warranty.

Phone makers don’t like it when their devices suffer jailbreaks. Google, which is imposing a $350 equipment recovery fee for Nexus One owners who buy the phone and cancel their T-Mobile service within the first four months, is likely no exception.

Meanwhile, Erick Tseng, product manager of Android at Google, attempted to clarify Google’s position when he told Engadget Jan. 19:

“When people say ‘why doesn’t Android have multitouch?’ it’s not a question of ‘multitouch’… I want to reframe the question. We have multitouch — what people are asking for is specific implementations in the UI that use multitouch, like pinch-to-zoom, or chording on the keyboard.”

Engadget’s Nilay Patel cut through the semantic tap-dancing, noting that the lack of specific multitouch implementations is still a huge issue and become a growing distraction for Android. In fact, he compared it to the brouhaha generated by the lack of copy-and-paste before iPhone OS 3.0 came out.

Some folks are just harder to please than others. Patel also asked the right questions about why Google didn’t use Motorola’s pinch-to-zoom code in the Droid, but used HTC’s code in the Droid Eris, only to not use it in its new Nexus One.

“Until someone can answer these questions in a reasonable way, they’re going to keep coming up over and over again,” Patel noted. “Google prides itself on transparency and openness, and a secret deal forbidding Android from having pinch-to-zoom flies in the face of that culture.”

Could be that Google has an agreement with Apple to not use pinch-to-zoom in certain instances, putting Google at a major disadvantage as it seeks to expand Android’s footprint in the uber-competitive smartphone market.

[via eWeek]

I’m seated here at a press event at the Googleplex in Silicon Valley. We’re expecting news on the Android front, presumably details on Google’s own Android phone, called Nexus One. Check back here for updates. I’ll be updating this post live as events are revealed.

10:05 am: We’re getting started with a welcome. Today, Google is unveiling next stage in evolution in Android. But first, a history of how we got here. Open Handset Alliance was meant to foster innovation on mobile when it launched back in November 2007.

A year later, there was T-Mobile’s G1 phone – but that still wasn’t enough. The company wanted a thinner device. soft keyboard and widgets for the home screen – and the MyTouch for T-Mobile was born. But still, that wasn’t enough. CDMA support was added. and there were new enhancements to the hardware.  Now, Android is on 20 devices with 59 carriers in 48 countries and in 19 languages.

In 2009, there were four major software releases. Android today is contributing to more and more users accessing the Web from their mobile phones. In fact, Google has seen 5x mobile searches than previously.

10:15 am: Now, it’s time to shift to next step in Android evolution. It’s been a great year but no big celebrations yet. These are just the early stages of Android. There are some great devices out there running Android – and the company rattled off a few: the Droid, the Cliq, the MyTouch. But the company wants to do more.

What if the company worked even closer with partners to bring devices to market to showcase “very very quickly” the software.  Today, the company announces the Nexus One, the device where web meets phone. It’s part of an emerging class of phones called “SuperPhones,” the company said.

The Nexus One was designed in close partnership with HTC – a company that has taken risks and bet on Android phone from beginning. Now taking the stage: HTC CEO Peter Chou.

10:20 am: Now, we’re hearing more about – and seeing – the Nexus One. It’s slim and sleek and fits well into the hand. It pushes the limits of what’s possible on a mobile phone today, Chou said. The combination of Google’s software and HTC’s hardware design makes this a “groundbreaking product” for the two companies.

10:23 am: Now, it’s time for a closer look at the software, as well as some additional hardware specs. Erick Tseng, senior product manager, takes the stage. First, the hardware3.7 OLED display, which provides deep contrast and rich colors. Under the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor, something Tseng called “really fast,” especially when you start running multiple apps. The device also comes with a multi-color notification LED trackball – yes, to help you navigate the UI but also to notify users of new mail, messages or incoming calls. It also has GPS, an accelerometer. It also comes with a light sensor, which allows for adjustments for power savings. A proximity sensor dims the phone as it’s raised to the ear.

The profile is slim – 11.5 mm thin, about as thin as a pencil. It weighs 130 grams, about as much as a keychain swiss army knife. It also comes with 5 megapixel camera with LED flash. On the audio. it comes with stereo bluetooth and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Something new with this device is Active noise suppression. With two microphones, the engineers are able to adjust the experience by cancelling out background noise.

Finally, there’s a metal bezel wrapped around the phone – a nice look, but there’s an open space for some engraving.

10:30 am: Now, on to the software innovations. Nexus One is running on Android 2.1, the latest update. The apps and features from Droid – such as Google Maps navigation or one-click Facebook integration – can be found in the Nexus One. But there are new features, too. The Nexus One now has five home screen panels (instead of the previous 3) for more customization with room for additional widgets.

Tseng is showcasing a new weather widget that’s far more advanced than previous offerings, building on GPS to know where the user is, for example. As a side note: this is a nice app and an example of how Android could really challenge Apple and its iPhone App store. The look and feel of widgets on a big full screen is a nice experience.

On to media and 3D technology. The static wallpaper screen is now dynamic – Tseng shows a lake scene and taps it to create ripples in the water. A natural home for the 3D experience is the photo gallery app. There’s a new visualization for photos, utilizing technology that allows users to view their photos in a fun 3D way that gives some depth perception to the photos. There’s definitely some powerful processing going on under the hood to power these features.

Last area of innovation for Nexus One is around voice. The company wanted to take voice to the next level. The search by voice feature has been around since the beginning of Android and later, on Droid, launched voice commands.  A very cool demo: Tseng says “Navigate to IKEA” and the phone, using GPS, finds the closest location and launches navigation. With Android 2.1, the company is offering voice technology for every text entry form.  A demo worthy of applause: a voice-recognized e-mail reply that worked seamlessly. Nice.

But wait: a secret surprise. Here’s a sneak peek at the Google Earth app, which is not yet released. If you’ve ever played with Google Earth on the desktop, this is not much different – which is impressive on its own. The zooming, the panning, the “flying” over mountains is all very good – and it’s available on the phone. Even voice technology works in Google Earth. Tseng said “Mt. Fuji” while in Google Earth and… yeah, you guessed it.

10:45 am: The Nexus One is the first to come in this SuperPhone category. But, how does the product come to market? A new way: through a Google-hosted Web store. Objective of Google’s new consumer channel is to help users select an Android phone for them. A simple ordering process. A simple way to shop for plans. Can buy with service or without. With service, the device will be discounted and comparable to others.

Today, at google.com/phone, users can purchase a phone with service from T-Mobile – but there’s more coming. The store is going live as I type this.

10:49 am: Now, we’re looking at some screen shots of the Google Phone store. Here’s the order page: $529 for a Nexus One phone without service OR, with T-Mobile, it’s priced at $179. This Spring, Verizon Wireless for the U.S. and Vodafone for Europe will alongside T-Mobile.

Here’s something: to buy a phone, you need a Google account (already done if you have a Gmail account) and it uses Google Checkout to process the transaction.

10:54 am: Here comes the recap, which tells us that things are winding down. We’re watching a Nexus One video now and then it’s time for Q&A and demos.

[via ZDNet]

Called the Nexus One, the Google phone is coming in January 2010 after Google admitted it had given employees devices to test. The Android operating system device resembles the unlocked HTC Touch, runs Android 2.1 on a Snapdragon chip and has two microphones. There is also reportedly voice to text features for the phone. Google crafted and customized the smartphone’s software and will sell the device online. This is a leap for Google, which has never sold hardware and has been content to furiously upgrade the Android OS and let carriers T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and Sprint sell Android phones.

The Google phone is real and it is coming in January 2010 to challenge Apple’s vaunted iPhone, according to a deluge of press reports in the wake of Google’s acknowledgment that a special device with new mobile features and functionality is being tested by its employees.

The Android operating system-based device, which people are calling Nexus One, resembles the unlocked HTC Touch, lacking a physical keyboard. It is also apparently larger and thinner those devices, perhaps coming close to the screen size of the Motorola Droid phone.

The device runs Android 2.1 (the Droid runs Android 2.0) on a Snapdragon chip and has two microphones. There is also reportedly voice to text features for the phone. The Unlockr has pictures of the device here.

Google ignited an avalanche of coverage when it gave devices to employees Friday for dogfooding, part of the company’s test process for soliciting feedback and suggestions. TechCrunch uncovered several tweets from Google employees who raved about the device, even when they were not supposed to discuss it.

“A friend from Google showed me the new Android 2.1 phone from HTC coming out in Jan,” wrote the GreatWhiteSnark in a poetic tweet. “A sexy beast. Like an iPhone on beautifying steroids.”

Google felt compelled to respond to questions about whether this so-called Google phone, a device the company is creating with a hardware partner but selling itself as a GSM phone independent of carrier help, Dec. 12.

Mario Queiroz, vice president of product management at Google, wrote in a company blog post:

“We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it.Unfortunately, because dogfooding is a process exclusively for Google employees, we cannot share specific product details. We hope to share more after our dogfood diet.”

Given Qeuiroz’ comments, it is quite likely the device is this very same Android Developer Phone 2 in a shadowy picture on the Android Developer Web site here. Google began offering SIM-unlocked gadgets for $399 a year ago this month to let programmers test and debug Android applications.

The Wall Street Journal meanwhile confirmed previous reports and added some details (paywall warning), confirming that it is an HTC-built smartphone upon which Google crafted and customized the software and will sell it online.

This is a leap for Google, which has never sold hardware and has been content to upgrade the Android OS and let carriers T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and Sprint sell Android phones. That Google is allegedly eschewing the carrier crutch marks a bold step for the company for which there are many reasons.

Experts believe Google is doing this because Android is fragmenting — too many operating systems and custom firmware builds — and Google wants to make a device with which it is completely satisfied. Om Malik wrote:

Others say Google wants to “own” the device because carriers hew to the competition and and can get downright Draconian about what features run on devices they sell.

For example, the Google phone is expected to feature the company’s Google Voice phone management application. Verizon has said it would support Google Voice, though Apple rejected it from running on its iPhone, which is sold exclusively by AT&T.

Experts expect the iPhone to appear on other carrier networks in 2010; a Google phone such as the Nexus One could facilitate that move.

[via eWeek]