How Google's Nexus One Phone Compares

The new Google Nexis One.

(Image credit: Google)

Google launched its first branded phone today available in both an unlocked version that can be used with multiple carriers and as a subsidized phone tied to a two-year contract with T-Mobile.

In a well crafted publicity strategy, the Nexus One captured the attention of the media and the blogosphere with more than 1,400 online articles before Google employees received the phone to test a week before Christmas. Expectations ran high and with this morning’s announcement, the phone is now available to consumers.

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The Motorola Droid seized a sizeable share of consumer acceptance since its release in November. According to a study conducted in December by analysis firm Changewave, 21 percent of respondents who indicated they plan to buy a phone in the next 90 days, said they wanted an Android phone, up 300 percent since September. Apple’s iPhone still led the pack at 28 percent, with RIM’s BlackBerry capturing 18 percent.

The Apple apps store has at least ten times the number of apps as those made for either of the other two operating systems. BlackBerry has a selection of the basics, but even though the same app may be available to different operating systems, the interface may be radically different. Facebook, and Twitter on the iPhone and both the Droid and Nexus One are remarkably similar to using these apps on a computer. Due primarily to screen size, the same cannot be said of BlackBerry where available features for Facebook and others are limited, and size is a restricting factor.

"As we head into 2010, expect Android smartphones to capture the attention of corporate smartphone users," Forrester Research analyst Michele Pelino wrote in a Dec. 18 note. "Why? Heavy industry support from Qualcomm and jointly developed devices from Verizon, Motorola, and Google, as well as the open nature of the Android platform let in-house and third-party application developers easily create new applications and integrate them with enterprise apps."

GPS has become a standard feature on smartphones, but features and pricing varies across operating systems. Last November, Google introduced Google Maps Navigation for phones running Android 2.0 and above. That means only the Droid and the new Nexus One can take advantage of this app’s voice-activated turn-by-turn directions, real-time traffic updates and satellite map integration. And better yet, unlike GPS service for BlackBerry and iPhone, Google’s GPS service is free.

You can't beat a physical keyboard for more accurate typing, but what kind? Some prefer a full qwerty keyboard, which necessitates a slide out or some kind of multi-layer device, and two-handed interaction. Others like an exposed keyboard that lets the user hold and type with one hand. To be effective, a virtual keyboard takes practice to build accuracy. Both the Nexus One and the iPhone have only a virtual keyboard.

Just like a computer, which allows you to work in Microsoft Office and surf the web at the same time, some phones allow the user to use more than one application at a time: one takes center stage, while the other runs in the background. In its ad campaign, Droid capitalized on its multitasking capabilities in an outright comparison to the iPhone. Running on versions of the same Android operating system, the Nexus One should at least equal Droid, and may surpass it in performance with its faster processor.

Cameras are standard on almost every cell phone, but are being used with more frequency. According to the blog Inside Facebook, 25 percent of Facebook users access their page by mobile phone, making not only the camera with its video capabilities important, but a one-touch upload social networking and photo sharing sites. The four phones have similar integration for easy uploading, but the cameras differ. Only the Google Nexus One and the Droid have 5MP cameras, a noticeable improvement over the iPhone camera at 3MP and the BlackBerry camera at 3.2MP.

Leslie Meredith is a contributor to Live Science. She has a bachelor's degree from UCLA in psychology and has directed tourism and ski publications for the Salt Lake Visitor & Convention Bureau and managed promotions and events for Sunset Magazine.