Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) may not be saying anything about its top-secret smartphone, but a lot of other people are. Clandestinely shot photos and videos of the Nexus One have begun appearing on blogs, and Google employee tweets are buzzing about the device across the Web. Gizmodo’s Jason Chen has apparently even gotten a sneak peak at the HTC-built device, facilitated by some modern day tech deep throat. Most astonishing, though, is that actual specs for the Nexus have begun emerging, and they reveal that Google may be eschewing AT&T’s (NYSE:T) big audience in favor of its old partner T-Mobile (NYSE:DT).

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Google Voice users — not to mention the FCC, we’d imagine — are still waiting for Apple to approve Google’s submission of its Google Voice iPhone app. In the meantime, developer RiverTurn  has created a browser-based approximation of an iPhone Google Voice app, dubbed VoiceCentral and now available in limited beta.  more

Smartphone application analytics start-ups Flurry and Pinch Media announced today they will merge their businesses, making them the analytics authority for the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android devices. Combined, the two companies will cover more than 80% of all iPhones (or four out of every five on the market), iPod Touch and Android devices (or two out of three) worldwide. more

The mobile industry can stop worrying about slipping sales and shrinking ARPUs – the economic recession will be over for them come 2010, according to custom research company TNS. In its annual Global Telecoms and Insights survey of 24,000 consumers released today, the firm found that 53% of Americans plan to buy a mobile phone in the next six months, up from just 24% this time last year. more

Ontela, which provides a photo-transferring service to wireless operators, announced today it is merging with online photo site Photobucket.com. The newly combined company will adopt the Photobucket name, as well as the company’s 22 million US-based users and will continue to market the Ontela software through carriers. more

Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN) today inked a deal with Samsung Electronics to embed its on-device self-service software, Nuance Mobile Care, in select mobile phones. The relationship builds on one announced earlier this week to bring Nuance’s XT9 predicative text service to Samsung’s mobile phones. more

Allied Wireless, a subsidiary of Massachusetts-based Atlantic Tele-Network (NASDAQ:ATNI), is building a new headquarters in Little Rock, Ark., the company announced today along with plans to hire 200 to 250 workers at the new location.

Allied was created to operate wireless assets acquired by Atlantic that had been divested as part of Verizon Wireless’s acquisition of Alltel. Atlantic had previously hinted that it might choose Little Rock to set up its new base of operations, in part because hundreds of layoffs following Verizon’s acquisition have left a ready pool of available talent there.

In September, 13-year Alltel veteran Frank O’Mara was named to lead the acquired business, which includes 800,000 subscribers in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Illinois, Ohio and Idaho.

Start-up Swype has made no secret that its goal is to take-over text input for all mobile phones, and it appears to be one step closer. The company, whose technology relies on quick tracing motions on touchscreen phones, today announced it has secured $5.6 million in series B funding, including from world’s largest handset maker Nokia (NYSE:NOK). more

AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) appear to have both benefitted from the recent internecine ad campaign in which the two bickered over whose 3G wireless coverage was superior — though Verizon may have gained more than its rival.

According to a survey released today by YouGov Brand Index, Verizon Wireless’ brand awareness among adults 18 to 34 shot from 37.1% in early November to 62.2% in early December. AT&T’s awareness in the same group rose from 41.2% to 54.5% in that time. Toward the end of November, as the holiday shopping season kicked into full swing, Verizon Wireless had surpassed AT&T in terms of awareness.

That mutual benefit is fortunate for the two companies, since the war brought attention to weaknesses in both of their offerings and underscored the limits of today’s 3G networks. But it also may encourage the two to try to repeat the phenomenon. We haven’t seen the last of Luke Wilson.

One thing I noticed in traveling the past couple of weeks is that you can’t necessarily judge a smartphone by its user interface. Looking over someone’s shoulder on an airplane or in a meeting, it’s not always clear exactly which smartphone they’re using, especially if they are deep in a calendar or email app, for example.

Chances are the person is swiping to a new screen or tapping on a virtual keyboard, whether it be an Apple iPhone, one of the many Droid phones or an HTC-enriched Windows mobile phone.

One wonders what will make a customer not caught in the daily sturm and drang of our industry choose one phone over another. The answer, of course, is marketing.

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