Google Unveils New Nexus One Phone - WSJ.com

Google plays another disintermediation card

Google, which has butted heads with carriers about which Google applications the carriers will support, believes selling phones directly to consumers online will get mobile devices with more advanced features into the market faster and lower the costs of high-end phones over time, executives said.

Online sales of cellphones will change the business "just the way Web stores revolutionized [the choice and cost of] how you buy something like a digital camera," said Andy Rubin, a Google vice president responsible for Android, at an event at the company's headquarters.

Meanwhile, in the bigger picture:

Google Unveils New Nexus One Phone - WSJ.com