We’re on the ground at Google’s campus in Mountain View waiting for that not-so-secretive Nexus One event to start. We’ll be updating this page live with coverage of the event.
09:47AM: We’re seated and ready to go.
09:49AM: Andy Rubin, king of the Android bots is here.
09:52AM: The small venue is filling up and everyone is getting seated. It’s supposed to start in around 7 minutes.
09:53AM: Black Eyed Peas are playing. Save. Us.
09:57AM: We’ve spotted HTC CEO Peter Chou. Why oh why would HTC be here?
09:58AM: The dude next to us just said, “BGR kicks ass.” Thanks, guy.
10:00AM: Said guy who likes BGR is Jon from Ars Technica.
10:01AM: Looks like the event might be running a tad bit late but almost everyone is seated.
10:06AM: Music is down, about to start!
10:07AM: Google VP Mario Carlos is on stage talking about the Open Handset Alliance. Members like NEC, China Telekom and Freescale. He’s also going into the history of the T-Mobile G1.
10:08AM: The myTouch 3G was released a little while after, furthering innovation.
10:09AM: There’s now 20 Android devices on 59 carriers in 48 countries in 19 languages.
10:10AM: Four major software releases from Android in 2009.
10:11AM: “Android is contributing to more and more users getting to the web through their mobile phones. We all know this is happening, we’re doing it ourselves. We see Android users searching the web up to 30x more than they do on a featurephone.” Also, Google has has seen an increase in mobile searches 5x.
10:13AM: From the beginning, they’ve been developer-friendly and have had an open source license, giving the freedom to innovate. He said it enables lower manufacturing costs, and it’s faster to market. “Android architecture allows ‘always on’ applications to run in the background.” Open and free.
10:15AM: The next step in the Android evolution… uh oh, here we go.
10:16AM: Volume, variety and quality of Android handsets on the market today has exceeded Google’s own expectations.
10:17AM: Today, we’re announcing the Nexus One.
10:18AM: “We’re extremely excited about the Nexus One.” It was designed in close partnership with HTC, just as you’d have guessed. HTC CEO Peter Chou is now taking the stage.
10:19AM: He is now talking about HTC’s Android lineup.
10:20AM: “The Nexus One feels good in the hand, the aesthetics are beautiful, 3.7″AMOLED great color display, 1GHz snapdragon processor to bring 3D graphics experience alive in Android 2.1.” HTC is excited to continue their partnership with Google and it pushed the limits of what’s possible with mobile phones today.
10:24AM: Peter Chou is now leaving the stage with Eric Tseng up to give us a walkthrough of the handset.
10:25AM: The Nexus One will have less lag because of the fast CPU, a multicolor LED underneath the trackball for notifications, ambient light sensor, compass, proximity sensor, is no thicker than a No. 2 pencil, and weighs less than a small keychain pocket knife. How about that visual?
10:30AM: There’s also one-click upload to YouTube, dual microphones for noise cancellation during a call for a “crystal clear call experience” and the metal bezel on the back allows for personalization, so when you order it, you can have custom engraving on it.
10:31AM: It’s not just about hardware but the marrage of software and hardware. We’re on to talking software.
10:32AM: Android 2.1 comes with the Nexus One and as well does Google Maps Navigation, Facebook and Facebook sync/widget, and quick contacts.
10:33AM: Google added more homescreen panels so you can add more shortcuts. Google’s showing their new weather widget.
10:34AM: On to the live wallpapers, all dynamic and interactive. One wallpaper will even moves to the beat of music when you turn your MP3s on.
10:38: We’re being briefed on the new gallery application that Google worked with CoolIris on. Scrolling and tipping the phone will tip the 3D layout of the gallery. Pictures and images are batched by date for easier access. It also syncs to Picasa.
10:39AM: Now we’re talking voice recognition. How the DROID can go voice search for navigation, trying to navigate to IKEA in Palo Alto. But what if voice could be used in every entry point? Now showing the voice recognition for composing an email.
10:42AM: Sneak peak at Google Earth for Android coming soon. Voice recognition is also built in as well. Obviously.
10:45AM: This is the first phone in a series of phones Google is doing with carrier and hardware partners. Talking about how they will bring it to market and all the speculation about it.
10:46AM: It’s coming through Google hosted web store to provide an efficient way to connect to selected Android devices. http://www.google.com/phone. You can purchase a Nexus One with service from T-Mobile starting today. Whoa, coming in Spring of 2010 to Verizon, too!
10:49AM: They expect to add more operators, more devices, including Motorola, etc. as well as more countries to this program. This coming Spring we will bringing the Nexus One together to market with Verizon Wireless through this channel.
10:54AM: The checkout process is simple enough — the recap? Google says it’s new way to buy a mobile phone from Google, with or without service, Nexus One is first phone in this new model, future will have more operators and countries and more devices. There’s a video coming up then it’s Q&A time, followed by some hands on action
10:58AM: Q&A time. First question, by Robert Scoble is, why is there only 512MB for app storage? Google said it’s for protecting applications but there will be SD card storage later.
10:59AM: Asked about the iPhone, Andy Rubin said “choice for consumers is a really good thing. We’re calling it a superphone.”
11:02AM: Why was it necessary for Google to design the phone? Why not by HTC designed by HTC? — “It’s inaccurate to say Google designed the phone. Peter and his team built and designed the phone. Google is just marketing and selling the phone”
11:05AM: What would convince people to buy a Nexus One over the iPhone? — Customers have a choice and Google wants to continue to innovate. A lot of new innovative items are going to come and Google is doing something new with how customers purchase their device.
11:06AM: Andy Rubin says “Globally, the $199 price doesn’t apply for the iPhone. Prices vary depending on region. The price without service will appeal to people, especially worldwide.”
11:12AM: Sorry we spaced out. These questions are so unbelievably lame.
11:25AM: Sanjay Jha just arrived for the Q&A.
11:40AM: Oh look, a decent question: When will the Nexus One come to Verizon Wireless and Vodafone? — As soon as they can get Verizon service integrated into their web store. Same as Vodafone.
11:42AM: Alright, that’s it, folks! Check for hands on photos / impressions a little later.
