Much has been said and written about Google’s Nexus One, the hot new doohickey that is said to place Google on an even tighter struggle with Apple and which will be the litmus test of the search giant’s marketing skills.
San Francisco-based blogger Cory O’ Brien tweeted: “Google Phone = iPhone + a small extra screen and a scroll wheel. Splendid touch screen, and Android.”
Meanwhile, Chirrup user Splendid White Shark said: “A friend from Google showed me the new Android 2.1 phone from HTC coming out in Jan. A sexy beast. Like an iPhone on beautifying steroids.”
Google's Nexus One mobile phone (image courtesy of Engadget.com)
Engadget’s Joshua Topolsky wrote a hands-on review of Nexus One, in which he details these specs:
The HTC-built and (soon to be) Google-sold device runs Android 2.1 atop a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, a 3.7-inch, 480 x 800 show, has 512MB of ROM, 512MB of RAM, and a 4GB microSD card (expandable to 32GB). The phone is a T-Mobile device (meaning no 3G if you want to take it to AT&T), and includes the standard modern additions of a light sensor, proximity sensor, and accelerometer. The Nexus One has a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, and we have to say so far the pictures it snaps look pretty decent (and the camera software is much quicker than the same component on the Droid). The phone is incredibly thin and sleek — a small thinner than the iPhone — but it has pretty familiar HTC-style manufacturing design.
And how much does this gorgeous animal cost? Leaked documents, revealed owing to Gizmodo.com, say this:
- $530 unsubsidized and unlocked, $180 subsidized on the T-Mobile network with a 2 year contract.
- Rate Plot: $79.99 per month on T-Mobile, which includes unlimited texting/MMS and web data, along with 500 minutes
And, of way, there has to be a tie-in between the phone and Google’s premier service, Gmail. Each Gmail tab is entitled to buy up to five (5) Nexus One phones.
Whether it turns out to be the mobile universe’s next huge thing or the first huge disappointment of 2010 ruins to be seen. In the meantime, watch for Nexus One‘s launch, reported to be held during a Google press conference on January 5th.
