Where’s the mystery come from?

The rumours started earlier in the week when the day’s Google Doodle was somewhat unfamiliar. Unlike the usual sketches, to commemorate weird and wonderful occasions, the Google logo was transformed into a legion of interactive balls that bobbled about the screen when users swept their cursor over them. Unable to fathom the event or occasion that the doodle was representing journalists asked a Google representative to explain. The simple answer of “Today’s doodle is fast, fun and interactive, just the way we think search should be” followed by no further comments fuelled speculation among users.

What’s it all about?

There has been a lot of speculation over what will be announced in the press event this evening. Google have done a great job in both keeping it a secret and building the suspense around the ‘big reveal’. There is a lot of conjecture flying around the web today; here is summary of the most popular ideas:

• As Kayleigh mentioned yesterday the interactive balls doodle was linked to a number of updates. Some assumed it signalled Google’s HTML5 capabilities, others thought it was associated with the Chrome browser and, due to the interactivity not working on some older versions of IE, encouraging people to update their browsers.

• Today’s logo, which changes colour as you type, has lead many people to believe that Google will soon be introducing a new type of search. We know that developments have been ongoing on for a new form of search, where results refresh automatically as you enter your query. This would reduce the effort of users when searching, and would extend the sites current ‘search suggestions’ into entire results pages.

• A further theory is that Google’s visual search is on the horizon. After the acquisition of visual search engine Like.com earlier in the year it has been noted that Google will likely incorporate the technology into its own search. This will allow users to search by image as well as text, similar to the technology that rival Bing launched last September as a beta version.

For now, all we can do is speculate, maybe Google is hinting at one big announcement, or maybe they will launch a number of new developments simultaneously. We’re going to keep a close eye on this one and will report with all the gossip tomorrow!

Let the Battle Commence

In the book trade all the main players including, agents, editors and booksellers are now converting towards e-reading and now some authors are exploring the potential of this new technology. In contrast however many traditional publishers tend to think that printed books will continue to be manufactured, bought and cherished. Publishers face several considerations including understanding the preferences of desired target markets. Some markets desire a physical book and some don’t use the internet that much, so it is necessary to reach them offline. Although this could perhaps form more of a generational argument, many of us in the digital are continuing to buy books.

Ebooks do have a clear value for educational purposes as textbooks are often out of date as soon as they are printed. Digital media makes it possible for content providers to make updates as new information becomes apparent, although a constant review of content is required.  However for those avid readers amongst you, would you even consider that an ebook device would ever replace your book collection? The Observer interviewed Tim Waterstone to find out his take on the ebook revolution.  He remains somewhat sceptical over what the British book buyer wants and indicates that although the reference book market is almost certain to go online, he is unsure about fiction books. I tend to agree with this and think there is room in the current market for both.

E-Readers – Pros and Cons

There are four main devices which can be considered the main challengers for the best choice of a device to read ebooks on, these include the Kindle, the Sony ebook reader, the Que and the iPad. Each of these devices have key characteristics which will be scrutinised for user’s personal preferences including the level of comfort and ease for reading, battery life span, durability, is there a glare and can the text size be adjusted for reading ease etc. The Kindle for instance has all the reading comforts making it a pleasure to use, however it doesn’t have a touch screen and a keyboard is required to add notes or use the search feature. Alternatively the pricy Que, targeted to business users, can handle any e-book in the e-PUB format as well as documents created in Microsoft Office.

Key selling points for e-readers include that they can contain many books but only weigh a few ounces; they have zoom and letter resizing functionality and can also be read in a variety of lighting situations. Despite its convenience most commercial ebooks are sold with strict digital rights management restrictions upon them, preventing owners from lending or selling books and sometimes even transferring a book from one device to another. This has led to complaints that you don’t really own your book, but only lease it from the bookseller for a period of time, even though some titles cost almost as much as a paper version. In addition they are not particularly robust and might not be appropriate in some circumstances, for instance for those of you who like to read in the bath, or on the beach on holiday. Ebooks also tend to be incredibly difficult for publishers to digitise and it is a fairly complex process to create the first pirated copy.

Traditional Books – Pros and Cons

In contrast to ebooks, printed books essentially provide you with a physical, even aesthetic experience. This is something which I’m not sure can be easily be replaced with technology, which is not so good at capturing a sense of time, movement and story. Paper books can be read anywhere, its pages can be marked and folded down and you can flip between them. They don’t cause you significant eye-strain, they look great on your shelves at home and you also have the guarantee that your reading material will not disappear due to technical difficulties. Although they are clearly not the most environmentally friendly alternative for reading, they are yours to keep and you are free to lend them to your friends as you wish.

Predictions for the Future

The top e-readers do tend to appear to be as comfortable as reading an average book, so similar to how news on the internet is replacing print media; does this perhaps indicate the future for reading material? The Oxford English dictionary is conceding that its third edition, 21 years in the making, will be published not on paper but online and Stephen Fry is also thought to be developing an app for his forthcoming autobiography.  Personally I think that regardless of future developments in e-reading technology, the book market will have plenty of room for paper books for some time yet.

Let us know your thoughts!

Over the past few years, Google Street View has come under fire from privacy groups for publishing images of the location of cars’ number plates and in some cases, distinguishable faces. After receiving thousands of complaints, Google decided to introduce a system that blurs the faces of people captured by the Google Street View camera; however there remain many identifiable features such as body-shape and clothing.

Flores and Belongie’s findings have been published in a research paper called “Removing pedestrians from Google Street View images.” This very clever software is described to create ‘ghost-free mosaics’ that ultimately remove pedestrians from the original image. The software isn’t perfect and does leave a slight blur due to matching redundant pixels from a different photograph of the same location. Professor Belongie states that ‘An artist using Photoshop could make a more aesthetically pleasing result.’

Although Google has stated that this project is definitely of interest to them, no one knows whether they will implement this software or not. It could potentially generate a torrent of requests for people to be entirely removed.

Let us know what you think! Will Google use this software to settle their ongoing privacy battles or will it create even more problems for the internet giants?

Unprecedented UK demand meant that there has already been supply problems and the launch was even put back until the 28^th of May while Apple managed to manufacture enough units to satisfy over 3 million sales in less than 3 months.

The Wi-Fi only version starts at £429 for the 16GB and goes up to £499 for the 32GB and £599 for the 64GB. If you want the 3G model you can expect to add another £100 on the price. We have been lucky enough for one of our team members to let us get our hands on their 32GB Wi-Fi version.

Those who already have a smart phone and a laptop may be questioning the purpose of the iPad when they already have an internet enabled universe. So here we have a review of the iPad’s good points and bad points which will hopefully help you decide whether it is worth splashing out on or if you should stick to using your smart phone and laptop.

The good points

I personally love the iPad! Not only is it very attractive, it is also very portable – and yes I have tested and it fits perfectly in my handbag when in its case! For me, it has revolutionised the concept of a tablet computer with it being an all in one entertainment system hosting email, books, notes, games, movies, images, calendar and much more at the click of a button.

So here we have the good point of the iPad from our marketing team’s perspective:

• It is sleek and small; with a crisp 9.7 inch LCD screen (1024 x 768) that makes the most of convenient web browsing.
• The fingerprint resistant and scratch resistant glass is very appealing as fingerprints are one of the most annoying things on a screen.
• The glossy black bezel surrounding the screen minimises the touch screen being activated accidently when handled.
• It is the simplest design with one touch button on the front yet it is cutting edge.
• Unlike the average desktop machine that can take up to 20 minutes to boot, it is amazingly fast to start – Literally the press of the button and you are ready to go.
• The navigation is great, allowing you to organise your favourite applications onto different lines or pages.
• The touch screen is fun to use and is sensitive to fingertip contact with up to eleven fingers. This feature is great for the whole family especially when showing images or playing games with the younger generation.
• The one thing that annoys many of us laptop owners is the horrible ever-present buzzing from the fan. With the iPad there is no distracting fans buzzing away and it never seems to get hot – not even after 4 hours of continuous use.
• The battery life is fantastic. I personally think that Apple’s claim that the built in lithium polymer battery can last for 10 hours is an underestimate.
• The iPad can easily sit on the arm of your chair, in the kitchen on a recipe stand (a feature which I am yet to test) or even in your bag.
• It tucks away safely in a standard notebook case so unless you feel the need to buy the Apple case, a simple own brand notebook case would easily do the job and keep it safe.
• The multi touch gestures such as when you open a photo album through pinching the images is a fun feature; allowing us to preview the album to take a sneak peek at the contained photos.

• The screen rotating lock switch is a good feature which allows you to read content while lying on your side without having to rotate it to landscape mode or balance it to prevent it rotating itself.
• One of our favourite features of the iPad is the iBooks. This is great when used with the antiglare screen cover. iBooks give you a gateway to your very own virtual library! You can even slide your finger across the screen to turn the page which is purely futuristic.

• Video viewing is fantastic on the iPad. HD content downloaded from iTunes looks spectacular. The image is incredibly crisp and the sound is fairly good too.
• Most iPhone apps are compatible with the iPad through simply syncing your iTunes account you can import all of your existing content and not have to worry about reinstalling all of your favourite games.
• The split screen calendar is a brilliant feature; great for organisation and letting you interact with your schedule rather than having a boring old paper diary deep in the bottom of your bag.

• The iPad is designed to be held and take everywhere and it could not feel more sturdy and portable.

The not so good points

Like with everything new in the world of computing, the iPad does have its flaws. Here is a selection of the less positive features of the iPad:

• The iPad weighs in at just 680g which does seem really light. Despite this, a few members of our team did notice the weight in their hands after holding it for a while. This has created concern over whether the iPad is suitable as a hand held device or whether it would be best teamed with the stand that can be purchased for it.
• The keyboard is difficult to touch type on as you have to flip to another screen to view the numbers on the keyboard.
• The lack of built in GPS on the Wi-Fi only model makes it tricky to use location services. Instead, it pinpoints your location through the use of coordinates from Wi-Fi hotspots.
• The iPad has no built in camera, saying goodbye to video conferencing on your iPad.
• There is still no flash ability so unfortunately I could not access my favourite clothing shop River Island on the iPad. Unless Apple resolves their problem with Adobe, this is probably something that Apple users are just going to have to get used to.
• Although iPhone apps can be scaled to fit the larger screen, they become extremely blurry as interpolation attempts to stretch a single pixel across two virtual pixels.
• The main point about the iPad that seems to deter people from purchasing one is the price. Can people really justify spending a minimum of £429 to own Apple’s latest invention?

While it does have its minor glitches, the iPad is definitely the best tablet style computer yet to be made. Perhaps it is not ready to replace the conventional laptop but I personally don’t think that is what the iPad has been designed for. The iPad is fun, portable and great to show off. However, a laptop would still be my choice of device for working in word, excel, Photoshop etc.

As quoted by Steve Jobs, the iPad is something that really could become ‘a part of people’s daily lives’. Rather than impatiently waiting for your laptop to boot so you can check if you have the winning lottery numbers; all it takes is a simple click on the iPad and you are there. Or what if you then decided that you wanted show your friends your photos from your latest holiday; the iPad is the much easier and portable option.

Clearly the iPad has some aspects that we love, and others that we think definitely need work. Is it the ultimate browsing machine, or is it simply a lot of money for a lot less features than a laptop? Or are we actually entering a post-PC era? Either way, one iPad is currently being sold every three seconds and people are already excited about what could be the iPad 2.0.

Here’s what everyone else around the office thinks

Neil: ‘I got the ipad with the initial intention of putting a lot of web and server administration apps on it and also using the web browser for such purposes aswell and easy email client.

I was attracted by the long battery life and the ease of use and instant on. Instead of the 10 minutes a normal computer takes to boot up, along with the slow downs and the various administration tasks that are required on a Windows machine, it’s nice to go to a website without having Firefox not responding. I can just pick it up and go, plus with it being a closed system hopefully security won’t be a issue.

I will also place music, games and photos on it for times I want to relax. I imagine that it will become my primary email and browsing machine.

It does have a few bad points at the moment; it needs more universal apps from the iphone making bigger for the iPad e.g. facebook and amazon. The price has also increased for apps over the iphone with very few making universal apps available. Multitasking is more of a issue on this machine then the iphone so ios4 can’t come soon enough.

Meghan: ‘I think it looks nice but I am not sure that it has a practical use for me.’

Emma: ‘I think it is a little bit heavy. I was excited to see what it would be like and test all of the features that it has but I think I need get used to owning an Apple product and I plan to upgrade my current mobile to an iphone first!’

Alex: ‘I like the iPad but I do not understand what it would be used for.’

Clare: ‘In my opinion the iPad is a nifty gadget with no substance behind the ‘fun’ aspect of it. It’s got two main functions, first it’s a reader & game player; but it’s too bright to read from, doesn’t ‘feel’ like a book and is heavy to hold up. Second, it is an organiser and file store; but it’s big and heavy to carry around and doesn’t use folders so isn’t that organised. So really it’s a glorified iPhone and not quite as good as a Mac. It’s stuck in between, but not in a good way.’

Wei: ‘I am very impressed by this super charged iPod Touch and its mobile computing capabilities. Although it is more like a piece of art than a practical device for day to day life, it definitely takes mobile computing to an entirely new level. I am looking forwards to seeing further developments in the iPad and tablet PC market in the near future.’

Tom: ‘The iPad certainly is a good looking piece of kit, as with all apple products the aesthetical feel of it is very pleasing and the technology at its core is also quite impressive. The problem I have with it personally is that I can’t see what it delivers in terms of user experience that isn’t already widely available in one form or another. I am afraid I see it as a cleverly marketed, nicely packaged lifestyle product rather than something technologically ground breaking that provides users with amazing features.’

How it works

The technology, unveiled on a small 3.4 inch on the diagonal screen, is yet to be incorporated into a mobile phone or other device, although there are rumours it could be launched in Japan as early as September. The screen is an LCD touch screen with functionality to switch between 2D and 3D at the slide of a button. To create the 3D image the screen incorporates a “switch panel” which creates a series of “parallax barriers” to block light from the screen travelling in certain directions; this means the image form the LCD seen by each eye is slightly different, creating a 3D effect. All very technical and explained in much better detail on the Sharp website [http://sharp-world.com/products/device/about/lcd/3d/index.html], but the result is a 3D screen with one flaw; it can only be viewed from 30cm away and straight on. This is due to the ‘light blocking’ effect that causes the 3D image; if viewed from an angle, or at differing distances than the eyes don’t receive the right images, hence the reason this technology hasn’t been used for TV’s…. yet.

What’s in Store for the future?

Claims from within the electronics industry indicate that small 3D ready displays will be starting to penetrate the market before the end of the year, and although Sharp are keeping their cards close to their chest rumours are circulating that the Nintendo 3DS console, launching later this year, may include the technology. But don’t expect it to end there; a plethora of gadgets and gizmos would benefit from this new technology including cameras, virtual reality gear, arcade games, smartphones and eventually TV’s. But perhaps one of the most prevalent uses would be the good old web application. Talk surrounding retailer’s product presentation on site and mobile applications to communicate these products on the move is still rife. If 3D screens were to be integrated into web enabled mobiles then the potential for retailers to communicate and sell to consumers on the move would dramatically increase. We’re only just seeing the beginnings of virtual fitting rooms, and thinking about the possibility of using augmented reality to see clothes on ourselves over the web. But imagine being able to get true 360 degree pictures of clothes, furniture and other luxury items literally jumping out of the screen at you. Customers would benefit from a more enhanced view of items before purchase, and retailers would benefit from higher sales, and fewer returns as consumers are more informed about products.

How big a hole will it burn in your pocket?

Unfortunately for the vast majority of the population this ‘in your face’ technology also comes with an ‘in your face’ price tag. A Sony 52in 3D ready TV from Curry’s will set you back £2,999. But that’s just the telly… if you want to actually watch it in 3D you’ll also need to invest in some battery-powered, wireless specs for around £100 and a transmitter to synchronise your new glasses with the TV (that’s another £75). As for other suppliers, depending on the size of your desired screen prices range from approximately £2,500 up to £6,000.

Will there still be ‘nothing on’?

Producers and manufacturers alike seem to have learnt from high definitions mistakes. They don’t want to repeat their previous struggles to entice consumers to purchasing a HD TV until more channels were dedicated to showing programmes with a HD option; this can turn into a costly and unrewarding cycle. Many top names have already announced partnerships to launch 3D programming such as The Discovery Channel with Sony & IMAX, Panasonic with US provider DirecTv and the promise of more 3D specific channels from BSkyB and ESPN. The latest launch date news is from Sky who are promising a 3D offering due to be launched on 3rd April with the Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea. So there should be plenty to choose from for the sport loving, movie watching, animal fanatic in all of us!

The Challenge for marketers

In the race to become the number one player in the 3D arena the key task for brands will be to get their sets out in the public domain. With the FIFA World Cup already set to be filmed in 3D, and the recent success of Sky’s preview of 3D football (showing Arsenal vs Manchester United in 3D in nine pubs around the UK) the obvious route to selling these specialised sets would be to public venues such as pubs, clubs and cafes. If consumers decide that the new technology is more than just a novelty and can see that it is the next step in home entertainment it’s more likely they’ll commit to 3D and invest in a domestic TV set. However, to initiate interest from those with the power to take 3D to the masses marketers are still going to be forced to get creative as they try to communicate the benefits and concept of 3D TV through traditional 2D media.

Google Street View is a new technology that is featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides 360° horizontal and 290° vertical panoramic views along a street.

Google’s Street View service has actually been available since March 2009, with a total of 25 cities being featured. However the increased coverage launched last Thursday makes an additional 210,000 miles of detailed mapping available to the general public over the internet.

In this article I will be discussing explain how exactly Google achieved this extraordinary task, the widely publicised privacy concerns and the benefits of Street View.

How were the photographs captured?

The astonishing Street View images are captured by various ‘Google’s cars’ which are fitted with a special panoramic camera on its roof.

Any pedestrianised locations or interest in the UK have also been photographed using ‘Google’s tricycle’. For example you can look at photos of Stonehenge and the banks of Loch Ness online without even visiting the place.

Once the images are captured by the Google cars and tricycles, they are “sewn” together to create the images we now see on Street Maps.

How do I use it?

Here are a couple of short videos from Google on how to get started with Street View using your PC or Mobile.

What are the benefits of Street View?

• There are endless benefits of using Google Street View from business to leisure, some of which are summarised below;
• Explore famous landmarks around the world from the comfort of your own home. For example you can view sights such as Big Ben, Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.
• Use your mobile device to look up directions and navigate using street view images for every step you take to your destination.
• Check the parking facilities or disabled access before visiting a new city
• Show family and friends where you live or perhaps any home improvements such as extensions to far away relatives.
• Preview your holiday accommodation. This will help you see if there are any negative points to the local area, particularly when brochures only tend to tell you about the good stuff. You could even take a virtual stroll from your hotel to the beach to see what the neighbourhood is like.
• Event locations could be advertised such as festivals, charity runs and open air markets.
• UK businesses are able to embed Google maps and Street View into their own sites for free. For example a hotel owner could promote its establishment within the local area by offering potential visitors a virtual stroll through the nearby streets.
• You could use Street View to promote your business by showing them an external view of your premises and nearby amenities. It could also be used to help visitors find your business by guiding them using local landmarks and tube stations.
• Estate agents are able to show prospective buyers or tenants available properties. Also Street View images can be easily embedded into their sites with the Maps API.
• Schools can incorporate the new features on Google Maps as part of their geography and history lessons to go on ‘virtual field trips’.
• Journalists could embed the location of a news story onto their site to show the location of a news event, for example a protest in central London.
• Likewise, a journalist could be writing an article about a new building built by a famous architect. Thanks to Street View, they would not need to go to the location to take a photo for their article.

Why all the fuss about privacy concerns?

As Google states on its website ‘Street View’ contains imagery that is no different from what you might see driving or walking down the street. However, since the launch last week, critics have said that it is an invasion of privacy and that the technology could easily be used by criminals in planning burglaries and thefts of cars and properties.

Google has, and continues to take steps to preserve people and their properties anonymity. It’s specialist technology automatically blurs number plates and people’s faces, and users can also ask for their homes or cars to be removed by clicking on the ‘report a problem’ button on the image concerned.

Whilst I understand people’s concerns, I personally think that the benefits of Street View far outweigh the privacy issues raised by some critics. Google are not capturing images of anything that cannot be viewed by the general public. All streets in the UK are after all in public domain, meaning anyone can walk down your street and take photos of your house if they so wish to. The only difference is that now this information is available at a click of a button from your PC or mobile device.

What can we expect next for Google Street View?

I am sure there will be hundreds more possibilities for this new technology over the next year, and I also expect Google will continue to launch new technologies to help make our lives that little bit easier.

Interestingly, this morning I read that Google are apparently now working on something called ‘Store View’.

Yep, you guessed it, Google are reportedly running a trial whereby photographs are taken of the inside of a shop every 6 feet and in all directions, alongside snapshots of products. The plan is to allow people to venture from Street View into Store View by clicking on a virtual door. They will then be able to enter the store, walk through it and browse products before making a purchase.

When a journalist asked Google about the rumours they simply replied ‘“We are always experimenting with new features for Google Maps. We have nothing further to announce at this time.”

For sports fans, this new development is another step towards enhancing the viewing experience for those that are unable or unwilling to travel to the live event. The widespread distribution of High Definition television increased the quality of last years Premiership, Wimbledon and Superbowl, to name just a few. Clear cut lines, sharp focus and vibrant colours meant spectators could enjoy the events from their homes while feeling as if they were ‘actually there’. Looking to the future, combing high definition sports viewing, 3D technology and even augmented reality, we could be looking towards a world where watching sport in your home could provide a viewing experience that is so revolutionary, fans prefer the screen to the sidelines. Obviously, there are other factors to take into consideration such as the atmosphere and extortionately priced food, but if O2’s cinema screening concept is as popular as they hope then I imagine a packed out cinema will provide as good a crowd as any pub!

What impact will 3D sport have on brands?

From a technological point of view, this new application of a rapidly growing technology is a sneak peak into what the future could hold for media owners and brands that embrace this new innovation. Combine this new technology with high definition capabilities and it begs the question of just how real television could become. With consumers growing ever more used to new technology and the possibilities that it can enable, demand is always present for more stimulating ways to be entertained.

3D broadcasting provides brands with a whole host of new opportunities to raise awareness and update their image. Take O2 as an example; they have succeeded in raising awareness of their brand by screening the UK’s first ever live 3D sports broadcast, of a team for which they are the shirt sponsor. In conjunction with this they are offering first dibs on tickets to those customers that are registered as ‘priority members’ with O2. This not only strengthens their current customer relationships but enhances their brand appeal to potential customers that will see the extra advantages that being an O2 customer provides.

With the technology evolving rapidly there will be a number of opportunities for fast moving brands to host ‘world firsts’ and associate their name with innovation, technological prowess and style. But even those that don’t have the financial backing to be leaders in this area can gain benefits by being open to, up to date with and involved in 3D innovations.

About the Nexus One …

The Nexus One is a slim, touch screen phone built in partnership with Taiwanese manufacturer HTC. The phone features Google’s own Android 2.1 software which is also installed on phones manufactured by Motorola and Sony Ericsson. The phone is set to directly challenge Apple’s iPhone following previous attempts from numerous other handsets. The launch also promises to result in an explosive marketing battle between the two groups and has been hailed as the ‘iPhone killer’ by the Daily Mail. Google have announced a plan to launch pay to call adverts, selling ads at premium prices, to appear on mobile phones. They are designed to work in a similar way to pay per click adverts which make up a vast proportion of Google’s revenue, thus linking the web and the mobile market as a dominant force. The proactive decision by Google to push forward its own developments rather than taking a back seat to more established mobile phone companies forms a significant progression in the mobile market.

A direct comparison – Google’s Nexus One versus the Apple iPhone

The key differences between the iPhone and the Nexus One include that the Nexus One is thinner than the iPhone and reportedly includes a larger screen.  According to the Guardian the Nexus One has a better camera than the iPhone, which includes a 5 megapixel camera compared to the iPhone’s 3 megapixels. The Nexus one additionally includes a Blackberry style track ball along with free satellite navigation capabilities, which are only available for an additional charge on the iPhone.  The Nexus one is also exceptionally quick to load and run, and appreciably faster than other handsets running Google’s software. It can therefore be argued that the Nexus One is excelling the iPhone in a number of ways. The Nexus One however omits the handy swiping motion valued by many iPhone users and iPhone also excels in terms of offering a wider variety of applications and a more fluid user interface. The core features have been examined further in the chart below.

Pricing and Distribution information for the Nexus One Smartphone

According to the BBC the handset is likely to cost consumers $179.99 (£112) on a contract with T-Mobile, but will also be available for $529.99 (£331) without any contract tying users to a specific network. According to TVNEZ the device has been gaining favourable first reviews on various technology websites and forums. The initial reaction has revealed that the Nexus One has the hardware, software and carrier flexibility to pose a significant challenge to the Apple’s iPhone.

The Nexus One will only be initially available in America on the T-Mobile network followed by Vodafone in Europe, yet there are plans to sell more phones from the Google store, each with a choice of operators. It is also intended that the Nexus One will be available to purchase via the Google phone store, enabling consumers to select the desired handset along with the preferred carrier, in an attempt to prevent distribution wars, which has been a fundamental issue in relation to the sale of Apple’s iPhone. This is perhaps one of core selling points for the Nexus One, as owners will not be restricted by which network to sign up with. Going forwards, this could potentially really alter the mobile market for good, taking the distribution power away from selected mobile operators.

The future of the mobile phone industry

The launch of Google’s Nexus One Smart Phone is expected to change the mobile communications industry for good, from how entertainment and news are distributed, along with how goods and services are purchased. The Nexus One offers a wide range of features, more consumer choice and is intended to help Google ensure that its online products and advertisements get a prominent placement on the new class of wireless internet devices. The Nexus One is only the first Google phone of many developments planned for the future. 2010 is ultimately shaping up to be the year when internet users move decisively towards the online web. 2010 is going to see the greatest innovation battle yet with the launch of Apple’s tablet computer expected at the end of January, so watch this space!