Google launches contract-free Nexus One phone

Google has launched their Nexus One Android-powered smartphone and it’s now available on their web site for $529 without a contract. It’s built by HTC and just looking at the specifications, the Nexus One is not that different: 3.7-inch (diagonal) widescreen WVGA AMOLED touchscreen (800 x 480 pixels), 5 megapixel camera (autofocus, digital zoom, LED flash, video recording at 720×480 pixels at 20 fps or better), 512MB RAM, 4GB Micro SD Card (Expandable to 32 GB), Assisted global positioning system (AGPS) receiver, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, etc.

Early testers report that it’s very fast though, which is good news as some Android phones so far have been less than snappy in performance. It runs Flash, which of course Apple’s iPhone doesn’t, but the Nexus One does not have multitouch, something we’ve come to love on Apple’s smartphone.

So specifications may not be stellar but it’s probably a very good smartphone. What’s really the big news in this is that it’s sold without a contract directly by Google, something that doesn’t happen in the US traditionally. If Google manages to do this there’s reason to believe that others will follow suit and make the mobile market in the US more like the one we’re used to in the Middle East where we just buy the device and then pick the connection.

Google is not an exhibitor, as far as I know, at CES but we’ll see if by chance there’s a Google Nexus One phone here somewhere that I can try out. I for one really look forward to trying this smartphone.

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