Unlike other mobile handset vendors, Google offers many other goodies online – search, Google wave, Google Voice, email, and more. So, If their handset is as good as they claim it is, I believe they will significantly shake up the Smartphone business model.
Referring to my previous coverage of the Google’s Nexus One Smartphone, the phone is finally out with their own Android mobile operating system and ready for you to purchase on Google’s website. Ironically, the release is exactly on 25th year anniversary of my arrival to the great city of Washington, DC. Not sure it means anything though 
maybe they send me a free phone?
Price tag: $179 with a two-year T-Mobile contract, or on its own for $529 without signing on for a specific carrier service; the Nexus One will also be available from Verizon Wireless and Vodafone sometime in the spring. Any GSM network SIM card can be inserted into the device. Such flexibility may prove attractive to enterprises with widely dispersed or multinational workers.
The phone is designed in close partnership with manufacturer HTC. It features a 3.7-inch OLED display; a trackball with multi-colored LED that will be used for notifications; a 5-megapixel camera; stereo Bluetooth; and active noise cancellation. It will offer voice activation for all text fields on the phone, including for creating email and Twitter status updates.
Multiple home screens, a la the iPhone, will let users populate the device with icons for applications they download from the Android Market.
In the coming months, Google plans on partnering with additional operators, offering consumers access to a broad set of service plans. In the future the company expects to launch additional phones with Android handset partners and to expand the web store to additional countries.
Here is their Nexus One in more details
. 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, which makes the phone as powerful as your laptop computer.
. Runs on Android 2.1, a version of the platform’s Eclair software, which offers advanced applications and features including:
• Google Maps Navigation: offering turn-by-turn driving directions with voice output.
• Email: multiple Gmail accounts; universal inbox and Exchange support.
• Phone book: aggregate contacts from multiple sources, including Facebook.
• Quick Contacts: easily switch between communication and social applications.
• Android Market: access to more than18,000 applications.
Their hardware includes:
• Display: 3.7″ AMOLED 480×800 WVGA display
• Thinness: 11.5mm
• Weight: 130g
• Processor/Speed: Qualcomm Snapdragon 3G QSD8250 chipset, delivering speeds up to 1GHz
• Camera: 5 megapixel auto focus with flash and geo tagging
• Onboard memory: 512MB Flash, 512MB RAM
• Expandable memory: 4GB removable SD Card (expandable to 32GB)
• Noise Suppression: Dynamic noise suppression from Audience, Inc.
• Ports: 3.5mm stereo headphone jack with four contacts for inline voice and remote control
• Battery: Removable 1400 mAh
• Personalized laser engraving: Up to 50 characters on the back of the phone
• Trackball: Tri-color notification LED, alerts when new emails, chats, text messages arrive
New functionality and software enhancements:
• Enter text without typing: Use a voice-enabled keyboard for all text fields: speak a text message, instant message, tweet, Facebook update, or complete an email.
• Tell your phone what you want it to do: Search Google, call contacts, or get driving directions by just speaking into your phone.
• Take personalization to the next level: Dynamic, interactive, live wallpapers react to the touch of a finger, while widgets and five home screen panels allow for further device customization.
• Capture camera-quality pictures and video: 5 megapixel camera includes LED flash, auto focus, zoom, white balance and color effects; pictures and Picasa Web Albums can be viewed in the new 3D Gallery; Hi-Res MPEG4 video can be recorded and then uploaded to YouTube with one click.
• Read your voicemail messages: Get transcribed voicemail with Google Voice integration, without changing your number.
Here is Smartphone market share in 2009 according to ChangeWave Research:
(% Respondent)
Operating System September 2009 December 2009
iPhone OSX 32% 28%
Google Android 6% 21%
RIM BlackBerry 17% 18%
Microsoft Windows Mobile 9% 6%
Palm OS/Web OS 6% 3%
Here is a pretty nice coverage of the phone:
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