BEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Internet search giant Google is set to launch its much anticipated Nexus One Tuesday, a move which will directly challenge Apple's iPhone.

    The phone will be unveiled at an invite-only event at the Googleplex headquarters in Silicon Valley. The device will go on sale on Hanuary 12 across the U.S., though no date has been announced for other markets.

     While Google's Android software is currently built into a number of devices, this will be the first phone designed by Google itself. It offers web-browsing, music and video playing facilities and, like the iPhone, a host of applications which may be downloaded from the Android marketplace.

     Unlike the iPhone, Android's applications don't have to go through an extensive review before they can be distributed to Android-powered devices, a contrast from the control that Apple holds on its hot-selling mobile device.

     Google plans to sell the phone directly to consumers over the internet, leaving it up to the buyers to pick their own carriers, according to reports published in technology blogs and major newspapers. The price is expected to be in the region of 529.99 U.S. dollars.

     In addition T-Mobile has agreed to provide a subsidized Nexus One that works on its wireless network, according to published reports. It may also prompt other U.S. wireless carriers AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel to subsidize the device according to technology analyst Rob Enderle.

     The Nexus One has been built by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, and is rumoured to include a larger screen and a better camera than those featured on the iPhone. It also offers free satnav capabilities, which are only available for an additional charge on the iPhone. As well as being a direct challenge to the iPhone, the device's launch may overshadow the launch of Apple's tablet computer which is expected on Jan. 26.

     The Nexus One has not come without some controversy. It is believed to have been named after a reference in the film Blade Runner to a group of rogue androids called 'replicants' that are identified through the model designation Nexus-6. It has been reported to have led to the estate of author Philip K Dick, who wrote the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, on which the film is based, to threaten Google with a lawsuit.

     Philip K. Dick's daughter was said to be "shocked and dismayed" at Google's naming of the phone without consultation. "In my mind, there is a very obvious connection to my father’s novel," said Isa Dick Hackett, president of the Dick estate outfit that handles licensing of his work. "We were never consulted, no requests were made, and we didn't grant any sort of permissions." No case has been forthcoming however and Google successfully acquired a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in mid-December.

     (Agencies)