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In the brief run-up to the announcement of its Nexus One phone, Google was doing nothing to quash the hype. Phones given to employees were quickly popping up all over the tech universe with promises of the "best Android phone yet" not far behind. And when the phone was finally unveiled on Tuesday, a Google executive billed it as not only a "superphone" that exemplifies what Google Android can do, but also as "the meeting place of Web and phone."

But as is usually true in the tech world, things aren't always what … Read more

LAS VEGAS--On Wednesday, AT&T announced its plans to launch five Google Android smartphones from HTC, Motorola, and Dell during the first half of 2010. The news came during the 4th annual AT&T Developer Summit in Las Vegas and is surely good news for AT&T customers who have been waiting for the carrier to add Android devices to its lineup.

One of the five models will be the Dell Mini 3, which launched in China in late November. AT&T said it will also have a Motorola smartphone powered by Motoblur (see Motorola Cliq) … Read more

So now we know the full story of the Nexus One. After the newest Google Android device was sighted last month, Google formally released the handset to the world Tuesday morning.

Though the Nexus One's specs are promising--particularly the Snapdragon processor and the enhanced voice control capabilities--it's not necessarily the best Android phone yet. Indeed, the real story of the Nexus One is not its design or features, but how it is being sold.

As my colleague Tom Krazit points out, Google is changing the way cell phones are sold in the United States. Google alone will sell … Read more

We knew it was coming, but we had to wait for Google to spill the news before we could talk about it with authority. And the company did so Tuesday morning at a press conference at the Googleplex in Mountain View, Calif.

As expected, the Nexus One is a new Google Android phone that offers an inside designed by Google and an outside designed by HTC. According to Google's Mario Queiroz, the Nexus One is a "superphone" where the Web meets the cell phone. "It's an exemplar of what mobile phones can do with Android," he said. The handset will be available first for GSM carriers like T-Mobile, but a Verizon version will follow.… Read more

So, Bono has been listening to his manager and soaking up the idea that the Internet needs to be locked down before it ruins the video industry. This selfless act of Cassandra-like prophesying involves talking about how great the U.S. is at stopping child porn and how great the Chinese are at stopping anything they don't like. We point out a few holes in the theory there. Also, Google is doing everything. Seriously, if you even think fleetingly that Google might do something, well, apparently it already is.

As we now know, the Consumer Electronics Show will not be the only thing going on in the gadget world next week. Google is getting a jump on CES with a January 5, 2010, press conference where the company should unveil its Nexus One phone. Details on the HTC-made device remain sketchy--though we have seen some leaked specs--but most signs point toward T-Mobile as the carrier for the newest Google Android phone.

According to leaked T-Mobile documents obtained by Gizmodo, the Nexus One will be available unlocked for $530 without a contract and $180 with a two-year service agreement. … Read more

With all of the recent leaks and hands-on experiences littering the internet lately, I think it's safe to say that the Google Android Nexus One is all but a foregone conclusion. So rather than spending more time debating whether it will ever hit the market or how it will be sold, I'd like to talk about what it could do for Android when it does arrive. Will it be a game changer? Will it take out a certain phone from Cupertino?

By now it should be fairly obvious that no singular handset will be an iPhone killer. Taken … Read more

In this week's preholiday edition of the Digital City Podcast, we all get ready for our one long break of the year, accompanied by special guest smartphone guru (and new CNET East Coaster) Bonnie Cha.

Scott and Joe have seen James Cameron's "Avatar"; Bonnie and Julie haven't. We also discuss Intel's new Atom Netbooks, 3D Blu-ray on the PS3, holiday smartphones, and upcoming laptops and phones at CES 2010. Best of all, Scott gets a chance to show off his one and only Batjew T-shirt. Watch it on video or you'll miss it. … Read more

On Thursday, Sprint revised a tweet it sent out last week regarding an Android update for the Samsung Moment and HTC Hero. Both smartphones won't be getting an Android 2.0 update; instead, they will get Android 2.1. (Pause for applause.)

The carrier made the announcement via its Twitter account, but unfortunately didn't provide any more specific details as to when the updates might be rolled out other than it would be sometime in the first half of 2010.

Currently, only the Nexus One is running Android 2.1. While features of this version of the operating … Read more