According to the Wall Street Journal, Google (GOOG) is working with its Motorola resources on a new Android handset, known internally as the “X phone,” with a planned “X Tablet” to follow once the new smartphone is completed.
While nothing particular is known about the project, the X Phone is said to be a marquee handset with unique features. The Journal claims that premium materials that include a bendable screen and ceramic chassis for the back panel as a way to make the phone more durable and stress resistant, as well as striking design and software capabilities are set to be features of the X phone.
Dennis Woodside, a former Google sales executive who is now chief executive at Motorola, told the paper that the company is “investing in a team and a technology that will do something quite different than the current approaches.” He added that although Motorola has been “under hard times,” it can do more now that Google is involved.
Looking at the development opportunities for a successful smartphone, Woodside added that only one billion of the world’s seven billion people use smartphones, calling that “an incredible opportunity”.
Even though Google has reportedly “run into hurdles associated with manufacturing and supply-chain management that have caused the company to rethink some initial plans for the X phone,” the search giant still hopes to release the latter commercially in FY 2013. If that’s the case, we can expect these “X” gadgets to be launched at Google’s next annual I/O developer conference, scheduled for May 15 to 17 next year.
The Journal’s report indicates that by entering the $219 billion smartphone market with its own potential products, Google will be able to better compete against the dominance of Apple (AAPL) iPhone/iPad and Samsung Galaxy/Galaxy Tab devices.