Google's biggest announcement was not a phone, but a URL

[Commentary] The Nexus One is a sharp-looking smartphone, but, as nice as it is, it is the least significant thing that Google announced on Tuesday. The real news is Google's online store, and what it means for the US wireless industry. Google has confirmed that Nexus One, and all subsequent Google phones sold via the company's online store, will be available unlocked for use on every participating carrier. If a particular Google-branded phone is not on a particular carrier, then that's only because that phone doesn't have the proper radio to support its network. In addition to being unlocked, the phones will also have bundled plan options where the pricing and details are up to the carrier. By offering a lineup of phones that is essentially carrier-independent (with the radio compatibility caveat), Google has separated the two previously interlocked parts of the phone/plan-buying experience—phone selection and carrier selection—and has done so in a way that threatens one of the most important enablers of carrier lock-in.