London – The cat is finally out of the bag – Google is all set to launch an own-brand smartphone as early as 2010 in its first major attempt to take on Apple’s iPhone.

According to reports flooding the internet highway, the smartphone, code-named Nexus One, has been designed by a handpicked Google team and will be made by Taiwanese electronics giant HTC, exclusively for Google.

The device is expected to boast of features like a capacitive touchscreen; Android 2.1 platform; onboard camera; WiFi; GPRS; EDGE; 3G; Bluetooth; A-GPS (with Google Maps) and 3.5mm audio jack.

However, what we’re most curious about is whether the smartphone will come with a secondary front-facing camera (to support video calls) and whether it will include FM Radio; microUSB port; microSD card slot and a slide-out Qwerty physical keyboard. And, most importantly, whether it will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor.

It’s not known still whether Google will take the exclusive route like Apple to market and sell its smartphone or whether it will choose to flood the market with its device by making it available with every possible retail chain and network operator.

But one thing is certain – irrespective of the strategy Google adopts, its smartphone has already caught everybody’s attention and it sure will sell like hotcakes when it launches.