Google Inc. has started selling a version of its Nexus One phone that
runs on AT&T Inc.'s 3G network, putting it in direct competition
with Apple Inc.'s iPhone.
The original version of Google's phone, which was released in early January and is still on sale, worked on Deutsche Telekom AG unit T-Mobile's 3G network and AT&T's older, slower network. The newer version, which became available for sale on Google's Web site Tuesday, supports the different frequencies that AT&T uses for 3G.
AT&T is the exclusive carrier of the iPhone, which also runs on its 3G network. With that exclusivity expected to end at some point, the carrier has been hedging its bets, adding phones powered by the Google-backed Android operating system as well as by those produced by Palm Inc.
AT&T's involvement in the new Nexus One appears to be minimal, however. The carrier isn't selling or subsidizing the phone, so it's only available from Google at its full price of $529. That's far more than the $179 buyers would pay for a Nexus One subsidized by T-Mobile or the $99 starting price of an iPhone subsidized by AT&T. Both of those deals require two-year contracts.
"We'll accept a compatible device on our network," AT&T
spokesman Fletcher Cook said. He wouldn't say whether the carrier and
Google had discussed the new phone.
Source: Niraj Sheth, The Wall Street Journal
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