Google Nexus One Launched, Available with T-Mobile in US

The wait for the new year was made much more exciting with rumors of Google releasing their first mobile phone all around. Widely believed to have been released on 5th Jan, Google proved all the rumors right and launched their new phone, the Nexus One, on Tuesday. With this, Google has entered the smartphone market, a market which has been dominated by the likes of Apple, Nokia, HTC, Samsung, Palm, Motorola, etc. Google also has their own mobile OS, the Android platform, which has proven to be very successful on other devices. Given the competition and potential available in the smartphone sector, it was only natural for Google to make an entry there. And with the Nexus One, they have made more than a noticeable entry. All eyes will be on this phone which has already earned the nickname of an 'iPhone killer'. The phone is designed by Google entirely and made by partner HTC, and comes in direct competition to the Apple iPhone and the tons of other smartphones out there.

In another interesting turn of events, the Nexus One, that was rumored to be sold unlocked and not on any carrier, will now be sold both with a carrier and unlocked, making it easier for people to choose an option. With this marketing strategy, Google has ensured that users who want the benefit of the contract will get the phone at subsidized rates, while the unlocked version will be a boon for people the world over. Google was happy that they could offer a choice to consumers and indeed it is the right thing to do, which might just be the reason that this phone becomes a huge success.

The phone has all the usual features of a smartphone and will run on the Android 2.1 OS. Sporting a large 3.7 inch AMOLED display, a 5MP camera with LED flash, a compass, an accelerometer, Bluetooth 2.1, aGPS, wireless 'n', the Nexus One comes fully loaded. It will also be only the 3rd phone to use the super fast 1Ghz 'Snapdragon' processor, after the Acer Liquid and the HTC HD2. And, most importantly, the Android 2.1 OS is much better and faster than the previous Android OS, making this phone a delight to use. Capable of multitasking and a host of other functions, the Nexus One will be more than able to hold its own in the highly competitive smartphone market.

While many were touting this to be the iPhone killer, Google has downplayed all such suggestions, saying that they made a phone based on customer choices. Andy Rubin, Google's VP of Engineering said, "I think the message isn't to the iPhone specifically. I think it's to consumers. I think choice to consumers is an important thing."

Whether or not this will end up to be an iPhone killer remains to be seen. But with all that the Google Nexus One is offering feature wise, the phone is definitely worth a buy. The Nexus One will be sold by T-Mobile in the US and will come at a subsidized price of $180, while consumers who want an unlocked version, which will work with any carrier, will have to shell out $530.