Google Phone

What Does Google Phone Mean?

A Google phone is the name given to a phone that use the Google Android open source mobile operating system. Most of these devices are actually smartphones with touch screens, Web browsing capabilities, and many other features not found in regular cell phones. Google phones are produced by a number of manufacturers, but the first smartphone officially designated as a Google phone was the Nexus One (code named HTC Passion).

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Techopedia Explains Google Phone

The first phone ever to be dubbed called a Google phone, although informally, was the HTC Dream, also known as the T-Mobile G1. Google partnered with HTC to design the G1. However, the Nexus One was the first phone officially advertised, designed and released by Google.

Like all Android-powered smartphones, most Google phone applications can be downloaded from the Android Market. Other applications are also available from third-party vendors.

Google phones generally include an unlockable bootloader. This enables developers to develop Android applications as well as participate in the Android Open Source Project, which provides a fastboot utility used to unlock and flash the Google phone. Developers can use the Android software development kit (SDK), which can be downloaded through the Android website, to develop applications.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…