Tablet PCs and Smartboo** ‘R Us

Google’s smartphone, theNexus one could be the product of CES much like the iPhone owned the show two years ago and the Palm Pre owned the show last year. (Yes, ironically, the iPhone wasn’t actually at CES, but it took it nevertheless.) Underground reviews have indicated that it outperforms both the iPhone and the Motorola Droid, which has been the hot ticket in the fourth quarter and used heavily in the battle between AT&T and Verizon. This phone will open the door for OLED Smartphones with increasing focus on graphics potential for the next generation of devices. I have a feeling that anyone who just bought a smartphone recently is going to wish that they’d waited.

The invitation-only event will be held two days before the Consumer Electronics Show begins in Las Vegas and just one day before many CES exhibitors have scheduled major press conferences.

It’s a move straight out of the Apple playbook. In January, 2007, Apple famously upstaged CES when it unveiled the first iPhone at an event in San Francisco — even as most technology journalists and executives were huddled in Las Vegas for the trade show.

Google hasn’t commented about Nexus One. But recent online leaks suggest the Nexus One will be a GSM-device with a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi connectivity, accelerometer and compass. It is expected to run the latest version of the Android operating system, Android 2.1.

Where Google could really innovate is how the phone is sold. The Nexus One is likely to be sold unlocked, which means consumers don’t have to be tied into long-term contracts with telecom carriers. T-Mobile, which offered the first Google phone, could provide “billing, coverage, features and rate plans,” says TMONews, a blog that tracks T-Mobile. The Nexus One could also go on sale the morning of Jan. 5, says the site, though there’s no word yet on possible pricing.

Will Google offer expensive unlocked handsets in the United States — a la Nokia — or can it come up with a clever model to subsidize the device cost through mobile advertising or carrier support? Google’s press conference next week should answer that question.