Remember the week leading up to the Nexus One announcement? Every Android fan was incessantly refreshing that google.com/phone URL to see if Google would slip and release some information early. In its heyday, that Nexus One URL was well-visited by those interested in Google’s flagship handset, but now that the Nexus One is part of smartphone history, that once glorious URL is defunct. Rather than let it fade into oblivion, the search giant has revitalized that web page and it now points to a phone gallery which includes Android smartphones from carriers around the world.
Each handset in this new gallery is a Google phone and includes Android market, Google Search, and other Google services. Google apparently holds tight to this criteria as the Samsung Fascinate, Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy S handset which is polluted with Bing, does not show up in the gallery while its kissing cousins, the T-Mobile Vibrant and the AT&T Captivate, do. While this may be a simple oversight and the Fascinate will appear next week, it may also be Google’s way of slapping Samsung ‘s wrist for making Bing, and not Google, the default search engine.
The Google Android gallery has some nice search features that let you view handsets by manufacturer, carrier, or both. With two clicks, you can see all the HTC handsets on Verizon or all the Samsung handsets on Sprint. If you are in a shopping mood, you can also do a side-by-side comparison of up to three handsets and when you are ready to buy, you can use the links provided by Google to make a purchase from the carrier’s web site. Last but not least, the gallery also lets you know which handsets are now discontinued and part of Android history.
Google promises to continue to expand this database by adding new handsets and new carriers in the future. Though the gallery is a much-needed resource, I wish Google included non-Google Android handsets so we could get a comprehensive list of all the Android handsets currently and formerly available. I have a feeling we would all be surprised by the number of Android handsets in circulation. Despite this limitation, Google’s phone gallery is still an excellent resource and worth a spot in my bookmark list.
[Via Google]