Google Moves into Hardware with The ‘X Phone’

The market is filled with Google-brand devices now. Their range of products includes smartphones and they have recently started producing tablets as well. The company’s focus has been on producing phones through Nexus, which has included devices from Samsung, HTC and LG. This time it seems as though Google is going to break tradition and will be using its recently acquired Motorola to develop its own hardware – a new smartphone.

The ‘X Phone’

The reports about the new smartphone are sketchy at best and there has been no official word on the matter from either company. Reportedly, someone from the inside the company has speculated that Google is indeed working on a new smartphone. It is said to be the most sophisticated handset produced till now. The handset has been given the codename X Phone. Until and unless Google reveals information about it or more concrete reports emerge, one can only speculate.

It makes sense for Google to develop a smartphone which would rival the best in the business. Reports have shown that devices which run on the Android OS are reigning over the market and Google’s new handset could further consolidate its position in the market. Google would have one eye on reducing the iPhone’s dominance of the smartphone market. Though Samsung enjoys a larger share of the US market, Apple is fast catching up.

Why Google Acquired Motorola

Google’s purchase of Motorola was expected but the price tag attached to it raised some eyebrows. $12.5 billion is by no means a small amount, even for a company like Google. They would have expected to make at least 10 times that amount from the products the two companies would make together. In that sense, it does seem as though the X Phone could be the first step towards justifying the huge amount Google paid for Motorola.

The reports have stated that the people at Motorola are the ones working on the initial development of the phone. Their engineers are some of the best in the world and are capable of creating a handset which could stand up to the intense competition already president in the market. There is no news regarding the features which would be included in the X Phone or the market it is expected to serve. The only thing the report emphasizes on is that it would be something different.

Included in the report is news that Motorola’s Dennis Woodside is overseeing the project. He has apparently asked for a team which is innovative and creative. He wants them to broaden the horizon of conventional smartphones and take a fresh approach to making the X Phone. Woodside has been quoted as saying that he is going to invest in the personnel and equipment required by the company to make the X Phone the best possible handset.

Final Word

As of now, it is not known whether Google would launch the phone under the Nexus brand or not. The reports suggest that the X Phone would be launched next year so you probably won’t have to wait too long before Google unveils it.

[Image via vincentabry]