Google unveils Nexus One phone

Google has unveiled an own-brand smartphone called the Nexus One.

The wraps were taken off the handset at an invitation-only event held at Google's Mountain View HQ.

The Nexus One is a slim, touchscreen phone built in partnership with Taiwanese manufacturer HTC and runs Google's Android operating system.

It will be sold through the Google's website and will be available on the Vodafone network in Europe and T-mobile and Verizon in the US.

Mario Queiroz, Google vice president for product management, described the unveiling as "the next stage in the evolution of Android".

Mr Queiroz said there were now more than 20 Android phones available from 59 carriers in 48 countries.

The release of the Nexus One is seen as a move to ensure Google remains relevant as people search the web using mobile phones rather than typing queries into a PC.

Google makes the lion's share of its revenue by selling adverts linked to those queries.

At the briefing, Google said the Nexus was "a point of convergence where the web meets phone and is an example of what is possible on mobile through Android."

"You will see it pushes the limits of what is possible on a mobile phone today," said Peter Chou, HTC chief executive.

It will be sold through Google's website.

A spokesperson for Vodafone told BBC News that it was the first operator to "bring the Google phone to the UK" but stressed that it was a "non-exclusive agreement", meaning other networks could also offer the phone soon.

India's Bharti targets Bangladesh

Regulators in Bangladesh have approved Indian phone company Bharti Airtel's proposed $300m investment in the country's fourth largest mobile firm.

If the plan is finalised, Bharti will be the first Indian telecom operator to enter Bangladesh's highly competitive mobile market.

Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world.

It already has more than 50 million subscribers and the number is expected to double by 2015.

Price war

Bharti Airtel is India's leading mobile phone service provider and is now planning to buy a nearly 70% stake in Abu Dhabi-owned Warid Telecom, which has nearly three million customers in Bangladesh.

Bharti Airtel, which has twice failed to seal a merger with South Africa's MTN Group, wants to diversify because of intensifying competition and a price war in India.

Bangladeshi officials hope that the Indian company will invest more than $1bn in the next few years.

But Bharti Airtel will face stiff competition from market leaders such as the Bangladesh-Norway joint venture Grameenphone, which has more than 40% of the market share.

Mobile phones have become popular in Bangladesh mainly because the networks cover virtually the entire country and call rates are among the cheapest in the world.

Mobile phone companies like Bharti Airtel hope that the introduction of additional services like banking and money transfers will attract new customers and boost revenue.