Google Showcases New Voice-Enabled Smartphone

Google today released a new smartphone, called NexusOne, a voice-enabled mobile device that runs on the Android platform.

Some of the voice-enabled features on the new phone, which was manufactured for Google by HTC, include:

• a voice-enabled keyboard for all text fields: speak a text message, instant message, tweet, Facebook update, or complete an email;
• the ability to tell your phone what you want it to do;
• the ability to search Google, call contacts, or get driving directions by just speaking into your phone;
• the ability to get transcribed voicemail with Google Voice integration; and
• text-to-speech output for location-based and mobile search applications.

Other features include dynamic noise suppression from Audience, a large 3.7-inch display screen, a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, Live Wallpapers, a 3D photo gallery, Gmail, Google Voice and Google Maps Navigation.

“The Nexus One belongs in the emerging class of devices which we call superphones,” Mario Queiroz, vice president of product management, wrote in a blog posting on Google’s Web site. “It's the first in what we expect to be a series of products we will bring to market with our operator and hardware partners and sell through our online store.”

Nexus One is initially available from the Google Web store in the United States without service for $529 or starting at $179 with a two-year contract from T-Mobile USA. In the near future, Verizon Wireless in the U.S. and Vodafone in Europe plan to offer services to customers in their respective geographies. Google will initially take orders from consumers in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Steve Mason, head of enterprise research at Analysis Mason, lauds Google for including speech recognition on the device. “If you're a business buyer who wants some all-in-one devices with an open OS, large developer community and big touchscreen, the Nexus One is a good choice,” he wrote in an email.

A preview of the phone is available at www.google.com/phone.