The rumour and I say rumour because as far as I am aware Google hasn’t confirmed anything yet, is that the new Google Nexus One handset will become available next month and will be sold directly to the consumer and be capable of operating on any network.

The Washington Post claims that that is what is going to happen according to a source close to Google who is not authorised to publicly comment, and they say this move by Google would run counter to current practices of carriers and mobile phone manufacturers who partner to deliver exclusive deals to the market.

The do say that it isn’t quite clear how the Nexus One will connect to wireless networks and that Google has declined to comment on their plans. According to industry experts any attempt by a carrier to block the Google phone could bring up net neutrality issues.

According to Tim Wu, a professor of law at Columbia University “This is a replica of the open versus closed war of the IBM mainframe versus the Macintosh for the mobile space, and Google is settling in for a long war here.”

It is unclear just how Google intend to price the Nexus One, but according to industry experts if they go the charge more up front route then consumers may balk, and Larry Downes, a non-resident fellow at Stanford University Law School asks the big question “Who will pay the subsidy?”

The Senior VP of the Consumer Electronics Association, Jason Oxman has said that the Nexus One is a very different model, but if anyone can pull it off it would be Google due to its brand awareness and ability to market it.