Skip the navigation
News

Google takes wraps off Nexus One

The 'Google phone' is available unlocked for $530, or for $179 with a T-Mobile contract

By Nancy Gohring
January 5, 2010 02:18 PM ET

IDG News Service - Three years after rumors of a Google phone first surfaced, the search giant has taken the wraps off its own branded and designed mobile phone, the Nexus One.

Initially available on T-Mobile's network or unlocked, Google said the phone will also become available from Verizon as well as Vodafone in Europe.

Customers can buy the phone now on a new Google Web page, Google.com/phone. It's $530 unlocked. The phone costs $179 with a T-Mobile contract. The Vodafone and Verizon options are expected to be available sometime in the first quarter.

Buyers must use Google Checkout to buy the phone and must have a Google log-in.

Google's Nexus One smartphone
Google's Nexus One smartphone

HTC made the phone -- photos and details of which were leaked online in advance of today's announcement. The device has a 3.7-inch OLED display and runs a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor. It's 11.5 mm thick.

The trackball pulses light to alert users of events like new e-mails or text messages. The phone has light and proximity sensors, in addition to a compass and accelerometer. The light sensor will automatically dim the display when a bright light isn't necessary. The proximity sensor also dims the display light when a user moves the phone to the ear to talk.

The 5-megapixel camera includes an LED flash and takes MPEG 4 videos.

The phone also has two microphones, one in front and one in back, enabling noise cancellation. That means when users are in a noisy environment, the background noise is cancelled out.

In the demonstration during a webcast press event, the phone response seemed zippier than that of the Motorola Droid, perhaps due to the fast Snapdragon processor and upgraded software.

The software, Android version 2.1, builds on Android 2.0, currently in the Droid phone. It has more customization capabilities. For example, users can place widgets across five home screens instead of three.

The Nexus One also introduces the concept of live wallpaper. The background images, which sit behind widgets, are animated. In an example, a photo of a small lake with a reflection shows leaves floating in the water. Touching it shows ripples on the water.

Android 2.1 voice enables every text field in the device. That means users can speak Twitter messages, Facebook posts and e-mail messages and the phone will convert them to text to send.

"One question we asked ourselves some time ago was what if we work even more closely with our partners to bring devices to market which are going to help us showcase quickly the great software technology we're working on here at Google," Mario Queiroz, vice president of product management at Google said. "We've done just that."

Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2010 International Data Group. All rights reserved.
Additional Resources
Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
WHITE PAPER
Solving application issues over the WAN requires careful consideration. Based on their independent research, Forrester Consulting offers recommendations on how to tackle application performance issues, insufficient bandwidth and the inability to quickly restore users in a disaster.

Read now.

Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

Mobile and Wireless White Papers
Digital Transformation: Creating New Business Models Where Digital Meets Physical
Individuals and businesses alike are embracing the digital revolution. Social networks and digital devices are being used to engage government, businesses and civil...
Empowering Your Mobile Worker
Today's most productive employees are mobile, and your company's IT strategy must be ready to support them with 24/7 access to the business...
An Interactive Guide: Bring Your Own Device
BYOD presents significant security and management challenges to IT departments who want to take advantage of the trend, but still protect corporate assets....
Calculating ROI for Mobile Client Acceleration
As mobile devices continue to expand in business use, ensuring these devices have optimal performance is becoming an IT imperative. This EMA paper...
Tablet Computing Without Compromise
This paper provides an overview of how and why that migration-from any old tablet to Windows tablets-came to be.
All Mobile and Wireless White Papers
Mobile and Wireless Webcasts
Live Webcast
North Pole to South Seas: Overcoming the Pitfalls of remote Performance
In today's always-on world, connectivity is a business requirement. You need the tools that allow you to operate as if you were on...
Supporting Mobile Productivity With A Limited IT Budget
Join us and hear from Kaseya mobile IT management experts as we discuss core strategies for supporting the mobile revolution on a shoestring...
North Pole to South Seas: Overcoming the Pitfalls of remote Performance
In today's always-on world, connectivity is a business requirement. You need the tools that allow you to operate as if you were on...
Unified Communications 101
What's the best way to implement a unified communications solution for your organization?
QNX® and BlackBerry® PlayBook™ Tablet.
RIM's multi-processor, multi-tasking BlackBerry PlayBook runs a new Tablet OS powered by QNX, a bullet-proof microkernel operating system. This track will take a...
A Close Look at Tablets
Learn More
All Mobile and Wireless Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs