Google unveils their Nexus One Android Smartphone

The Nexus One Smartphone was officially unveiled during Google’s press conference today.

During a large press conference on the 5th of January, ahead of the CES 2010 show, Google has unveiled their mobile strategy based on Google Android by releasing their first Smartphone: the Nexus One.

At the same time, the Open Handset Alliance - the Android support group, also grew by 13 members bringing to 52 the total number of involved companies looking to evolve the mobile OS. The Android system will now be installed on twenty different devices, distributed by close to 60 carriers in about 50 countries.

Looking to build on the numerous models already released (notably in the second half of 2009), Google has now officially released their own model: Nexus One, which has seen a large number of rumours surrounding it since the middle of December.

It has been designed in partnership with the Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, with it being the group’s president Peter Chou who presented the devices major features. While HTC has already launched 6 Android models under their own brand name, along with large marketing campaigns to try and add visibility to their products, the fact that they are now teaming up with Google won’t stop them from continuing to work as an ODM assembler on certain products in the future.

The main functions have now been confirmed: the Nexus One comes with a 3.7" tactile AMOLED screen and a Qualcomm SnapDragon 1 GHz processor. You will also find a coloured notification system situated under the trackball, sensors (lighting, proximity, accelerometer), an electronic compass and GPS functions.

The Nexus One also comes with a 5 Mega pixel digital camera on the back with Flash LED, a 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth stereo and WiFi connectivity options. It can also be noted that there is a space on the back of the device where some personal words can be engraved in the same way as what Apple is offering when purchasing an iPhone or iPod Touch directly from their website.

Android 2.1 Eclair onboard
Inside the device, a new release of the Android operating system is present: Android 2.1 Eclair (soon to be available on other handsets like the Motorola Droid/Milestone) which offers a certain number of new features ranging from the integration of the Facebook service to dynamic animations and a new photo viewer.

Voice recognition has been implemented throughout the device; preparing a new voice interface which has for a long time been anticipated but something which only the latest mobile devices have been able to manage.

As also predicted, the Nexus One is the first in a series of Smartphone’s which are both top of the line (nicknamed "superphones") which aim to have good battery life and simplified access. It is possible to purchase the handset directly from Google or through a carrier with a service contract (in the United States this will be with T-Mobile USA). The portal www.google.com/phone is the starting point for this strategy, with it being quickly updated with new carriers and handsets that come online.

Verizon Wireless will also play a role in the United States, while in Europe it is Vodafone who will be distributing the device. In France, SFR will be the carrier who will benefit from a partnership with the manufacturer, making them one of the first to offer the phone.

The announced prices match what was already suspected: 530 dollars naked and unblocked or 180 dollars with a T-Mobile contract (80 dollars a month). The Nexus One will be launched firstly in the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong.

 

 

Specifications
In terms of technical specifications, the 3.7" AMOLED screen comes with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. The Nexus One’s dimensions are 119 x 59.8 x 11.5 mm, weighing 130 g. To accompany the Qualcomm SnapDragon 1 GHz processor, you will find 512 MB of RAM and 512 MB of Flash memory, as well as a microSDHC extension port.

The phone is quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA 7.2/HSUPA 2 Mbps compatible, with 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (as well as an A2DP profile allowing you to listen to wireless stereo). The device also comes with an A-GPS module.

The announced battery life is 10 hours in communication or 7 hours in UMTS, with up to 290 hours in stand by. For internet use, you can use the device for up to 5 hours in 3G or 6 and half hours in WiFi. The device should be able to play video for 7 hours and audio for 20 hours.

 

Picture credits : Engadget