The Nexus One is a slim smartphone with a 3.7-inch touch-screen. At 0.5 inches thick and weighing 4.6 ounces, the Nexus One is slightly slimmer and lighter than the iPhone.
The phone is initially available only in the United States, selling for $529 without a contract, or $179 with a two-year contract from T-Mobile USA.
Google say the phone will go on sale in Europe in the spring with contracts available from Vodafone.
The phone features a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with flash, a trackball, an accelerometer, and will come with 4 GB memory via a removable SD Card that can be expanded up to a maximum of 32 GB.
The phone also features a “voice-enabled keyboard” for all text fields, enabling the user to complete a text message, instant message, tweet, Facebook update, or an e-mail by simply speaking into the phone.
“The Nexus One belongs in the emerging class of devices which we call ‘superphones,’ with the 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ chipset making it as powerful as your laptop computer of three to four years ago," said Andy Rubin, Google’s vice president of engineering, in a press release.
“It’s our way to raise the bar on what’s possible when it comes to creating the best mobile experience for consumers.”
Google are selling the phone directly via a new Web store (www.google.com/phone) where they will eventually offer a selection of phones running the Android operating system.
Google’s profits come largely from small text adverts linked to online search queries typed into PCs. The search giant’s move into smartphones is seen as a way to protect its revenue as more and more people access the Internet via cell phones rather than conventional PCs.
The device is made by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC who already offer several smartphones which run on Google’s Android operating system.
