Google Phone leaks – gets named, dated and pictured

News on the Google Phone went a bit crazy over the weekend, and we now appear to have a name, a picture and even details on specs and release date.Thought to be called the Nexus One (although whether it launches with this name remains to be seen), the device was thought to have been dished out to Google employees over the weekend thanks to tweets-a-plenty from a number of them.TechCrunch rounded up some that noted the phone runs on "HTC hardware", dismissing the claims it was going to be made by a Korean manufacturer, and that it will be released in January running the new Android 2.1 software.It sounds like we're in for a visual treat as well, with one tweet describing it like an "iPhone on beautifying steroids", and another saying the homescreen has "new visual enhancements like animated desktop wallpaper".The phone was also allegedly snapped in a photo uploaded to Twitpic by Cory O'Brien, and was even alluded to in an official blog post on the Google blog.Now the Wall Street Journal is quoting sources as saying the handset will be sold directly to consumers online rather than through an operator.We don't expect this is the last we'll hear of the Google Phone before the end of the year – we'll be keeping our ears close to the ground for any more on this and let you know as soon as we have anything. In the meantime, do you reckon the Google Phone will be worth all the fuss? Let us know below.