Google's mobile hopes go beyond Nexus One

One could be forgiven for assuming Google was about to knock over the smartphone market--two and a half years after Apple did just that--with one quick blow going into Tuesday's Android event with a phone designed by Google and sold at retail by Google. After all, that's what the Internet said would happen leading up to the event.

But what actually emerged from Building 43 on Tuesday is just another Android phone: a nice one, to be sure, but one featuring hardware designed completely by smartphone maker HTC and software features that will soon be available to other Android phones with advanced hardware, like the Droid. The real story is perhaps less sexy than a sleek iPhone killer that so many techies would love to see compete with Apple, but it's a sign that Google CEO Eric Schmidt has learned his lessons about competition over a lifetime in the tech industry.

What Google is trying to do is gradually reel in Apple over a period of years by emphasizing open phones with open application stores sold through a variety of channels running an open-source operating system. And, for good measure, it's also trying to do nothing less than reinvent the way mobile phones are sold in the U.S.