14 DAY TRIAL // Search engine-based company Google officially announced today the launch of Nexus One by HTC, the first handset in the world to sport the Android 2.1 operating system on board. According to the maker, the fresh mobile phone, which sports the latest hardware technology from HTC and the newest software from Google, is being launched so as to exemplify a new way in which consumers can purchase an Android-based device, namely through web store Google hosts.
The Nexus One will come with Android 2.1 on board, which Google says is “a version of the platform's Eclair software,” and which will include Google Maps Navigation, support for multiple Gmail accounts and for Exchange, Quick Contacts for fast switch between communication and social applications, access to the Android Market (with over 18,000 applications), and a phone book that aggregates contacts from multiple sources, including Facebook.
The Nexus One also comes with new functionality and software enhancements, including: - Enter text without typing. - Use a voice-enabled keyboard for all text fields: speak a text message, instant message, tweet, Facebook update, or complete an email. - Tell your phone what you want it to do. - Search Google, call contacts, or get driving directions by just speaking into your phone. - Take personalization to the next level. - Dynamic, interactive, live wallpapers react to the touch of a finger. - More widgets and five home screen panels allow for further device customization. - Capture camera-quality pictures and video with your device. - 5 megapixel camera includes LED flash, auto focus, zoom, white balance and color effects. - View pictures and Picasa Web Albums in the new 3D Gallery. - Record Hi-Res MPEG4 video, and then upload to YouTube with one click. - Read your voicemail messages. - Get transcribed voicemail with Google Voice integration, without changing your number.
The specifications list of the handset should be something you have already met, yet we'll still note some of the main capabilities of the phone. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 3G QSD8250 1GHz chipset is present on board, coupled with 512MB Flash and 512MB RAM, as well as a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen display that boasts a 480 x 800 pixel (WVGA) resolution, a 5-megapixel photo snapper with auto focus, flash and geo tagging, 32GB of removable storage via microSD card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 1400 mAh battery that can deliver up to ten hours of talk time or up to 290 hours of standby time.
The web store hosted by Google, through which one can purchase the Nexus One, is available for access here, and is said to be aimed at becoming a place where users will be able to access selected Android phones. The new Nexus One is available for purchase via this channel free of service, yet it also comes through Google's operator partners. For the time being, it seems that the handset will only come to users in the US, priced at $529 free of contract, or starting at $179 with a two-year contract from T-Mobile USA.
However, Google also announced that the fresh device is set to arrive in the near future to Verizon Wireless' airwaves in the US, and that Vodafone would also have it in Europe in the following months. The UK, Singapore, and Hong Kong are the markets where Nexus One can also be ordered in the beginning, yet it will also arrive to other markets in the future, and via a wider range of carriers, Google stated. Not to mention that Nexus One is expected to be followed by other similar devices, so that “consumers will benefit from the ability to match a phone of their choice with the service plan that best meets their needs.”
