Thursday, March 18 12:00 AM ET

Details on Google's Nexus One Successor "Threepio Phone" Leaked

By Brian Briggs follow me on Twitter or Buzz.

Mountain View, CA - Sales of Google's flagship Android phone, the Nexus One, has led many people to call the phone a flop.  However, we here at BBspot have learned that it hasn't deterred Google from moving forward with the next generation phone to replace the Nexus One called the Threepio.

Our sources inside Google say the Threepio will run Android 4.0 and be released some time in 2011.  Android 4.0 will feature Google's Universal Translator Software (GUTS), which can translate millions of spoken languages on the fly.  GUTS will require hardware that puts the speedy Nexus One to shame.  "I'm talking light years ahead of current processors," said my anonymous source.

Like the Nexus One the Threepio will be designed by Google, but built by HTC.  It'll be a similar form factor to the Nexus One, but will feature a gold-toned metallic shell like its namesake.  So far nothing has surfaced about whether the phone understands the binary language of moisture vaporators, but we can keep our fingers crossed.

As further evidence of the phone for a short time this week the URL http://www.google.com/threepio had the message "We don't serve their kind here."

It's unclear if by the time the Threepio has launched Android will improve on its lack of apps which many people find "disturbing."

The news of the handset from Google is unlikely to score any points with Apple's CEO Steve Jobs who recently called Google the leader of the "rebel alliance" and that he considered them a "traitor."

Officially Google has neither confirmed or denied the reports on the Threepio phone, but back channel sources suggest to us that an announcement will be coming in the next couple of months. Until that time, we'll just have to hope we can hold off the trash compactor for a little while longer.

Stay tuned to BBspot for more details as they become available.