Google has just unveiled its own smartphone (which also happens to be its very first consumer device), the Nexus One, upping the stakes once again in the smartphone arena. Unveiled at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California earlier this morning, the Nexus One is powered by a new version of Android (Google’s operating system for smartphones) and the hardware has been designed by Taiwanese handset maker HTC.Earlier online leaks were pretty accurate on the phone’s form factor, technical specifications and pricing details. You can pore over the technical specifications here. There’s plenty of features that will make geeks happy. Like its fast 1GHz processory, roomy 3.7-inch LED-based touchscreen display and 5-megapixel camera. The updated Android OS looks very slick with its animated and interactive background wallpapers and 3D-like user interface.
The smartphone’s ubiquitous speech recognition feature is a surprise feature addition, allowing you to do a Google search or enter text, whether it’s for an e-mail or a note, simply by speaking into the phone. The double-microphone feature that cancels out background noise for clearer calls sounds promising too. Thanks to its cutting-edge software and hardware, Google has even dubbed it a “superphone”.
Here’s an official Google video that demonstrates what the Nexus One can do:
The smartphone’s ubiquitous speech recognition feature is a surprise feature addition, allowing you to do a Google search or enter text, whether it’s for an e-mail or a note, simply by speaking into the phone. The double-microphone feature that cancels out background noise for clearer calls sounds promising too. Thanks to its cutting-edge software and hardware, Google has even dubbed it a “superphone”.
Here’s an official Google video that demonstrates what the Nexus One can do:
According to Google, the phone will initially be sold in the United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Singapore. But the good news is that you can order one online now (www.google.com/phone) and it will be shipped to Singapore from the US. It will be sold to consumers here without a contract or subscription plan from any of the local telcos for now. Including shipping costs (US$28.32) and its power adaptor (US$19.99) accessory, the Nexus One will cost a total of US$577.31 (S$805.70) for Singaporeans.
How does it compare to the latest iPhone? In terms of performance, the Nexus One is instantly responsive (lag was a major bugbear with earlier Android-based handsets). Its customisation options, animated user interface and interactive backgrounds provide a wow-factor for users.
However, multi-touch gestures that let you interact more naturally with the device, are not supported on the Nexus One – however, according to Google, this can enabled through a software update. The Android platform also lags behind when it comes to the breadth of applications available for Apple’s smartphone. Hopefully, the number of Android apps will grow astronomically with the Nexus One gaining mass popularity as it takes on the role of Google’s flagship smartphone. And, of course, you don’t need to be tied to any telco to get a Nexus One – you can order it straight from Google. The price of freedom is, after all, just S$805.70.
How does it compare to the latest iPhone? In terms of performance, the Nexus One is instantly responsive (lag was a major bugbear with earlier Android-based handsets). Its customisation options, animated user interface and interactive backgrounds provide a wow-factor for users.
However, multi-touch gestures that let you interact more naturally with the device, are not supported on the Nexus One – however, according to Google, this can enabled through a software update. The Android platform also lags behind when it comes to the breadth of applications available for Apple’s smartphone. Hopefully, the number of Android apps will grow astronomically with the Nexus One gaining mass popularity as it takes on the role of Google’s flagship smartphone. And, of course, you don’t need to be tied to any telco to get a Nexus One – you can order it straight from Google. The price of freedom is, after all, just S$805.70.
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