Google Smartphone

Google stirred up some real rumours towards the end of 2009 as it emerged that the first ever Google-branded smartphone was on the way. After furious speculation online and in the media, the phone was finally announced to the world in early January 2010 and it was dubbed the Nexus One. Google had obviously created the Nexus One to directly rival the Apple iPhone, although on paper it is currently superior to Apple's device in many ways. Read on if you want to find out more about the brand new Google smartphone.

The Nexus One may be stamped with Google's name all over, but it is actually a product of Taiwanese manufacturer HTC and many believe that it is based on their own Bravo smartphone which is due out later in the year. The Nexus One has a large 3.7 inch touch screen display and this makes use of AMOLED technology. AMOLED screens do not require traditional backlighting as each individual pixel emits its own light. As such the screen is able to consume less power, which preserves the battery and benefits the environment. It also means the colour and contrast levels are more impressive than on many of its rivals. The screen is also high resolution, which means that viewing web pages and text on the Nexus One makes everything look crisp and easy on the eyes. A 1GHz Snapdragon processor is housed inside and this is fast enough to keep applications running smoothly and the interface operating as it should at all times.

The Nexus One has version 2.1 of the Android operating system, which is also a product of Google's in house development team. For the time being no other smartphone will have this latest version of Android, which makes several improvements over its predecessors. Android is quickly becoming one of the most popular mobile platforms and several other manufacturers have worked with it in the past, including Motorola and Samsung. Android includes native support for many of Google's most popular services including GMail, YouTube and Google Maps. It also provides access to the Android Market, which is a digital download service from which you can purchase additional applications to enhance the basic capabilities of the Nexus One. Many developers are creating their own third-party apps for the Android platform and there are thousands of apps which you can download free of charge.

On the rear of the Nexus One you will find a 5 megapixel camera which also has an accompanying LED flash. The image quality is good and it easily surpasses that of the iPhone. You can also shoot video using the camera, although there is no front-mounted VGA alternative, so video calling is out of the question. The Nexus One has built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, along with 3G and HSDAP networking, which can be used to get online and download files at high speeds no matter where you are. The web browser is particularly good, as you would imagine and the support from Google's search engine will allow for new users to get to grips with something familiar from the very beginning. Overall it is an impressive piece of kit and it could well provide serious competition for the iPhone if it is able to gain popularity and exposure.