Google confirmed in a blog that it was testing a new concept mobile phone, writing that it was "dogfooding" the devices, an expression that comes from the idea that companies should eat their own dog food, or use their own products. "We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it," Google wrote. The company declined to disclose any product details and said it would discuss the product more after the test period. Google began distributing new phones to employees on 12 December, who began posting comments to Twitter about them, TechCrunch reported. Some of the employees referred to the devices as the new "Google phone". A Google employee said the phone was made by HTC and runs a new version of Android. The touch-screen device has no keyboard and appears to be a slightly larger and thinner version of the HTC MyTouch. People familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal that Google could start selling phones direct to consumers as early as next year. The paper's sources said the phone is called the Nexus One and was designed inside Google. It will be sold online, at least initially, without being subsidized by a mobile operator. Google has kept at least two carriers, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA, informed about its new phone, and left open the possibility of distribution with an operator, according to the paper.

source:telecompaper