by Amy Crocker

Google will market its own cellphone as early as next year, according to the Wall Street Journal. This phone, called Nexus One, will be sold without a connection to a wireless carrier. Consumers, at least initially, will buy wireless service separately. Google will instead likely promote the use of Google Voice, a call-routing service, and Gizmo5, a recently purchased start-up that lets users make Internet calls from cellphones.

This move further puts Google into direction competition with Apple and brings the world one step closer to a bay area battle of Middle Earth proportions.