Google Nexus One Launches With Android 2.1

Yes, Google has launched its own phone; the Google Nexus One. It’s sexy, stylish and sleek, and everything you’d come to expect in a post-iPhone world. It’s also sporting Android 2.1, a step up from what the Droid had when it launched. Read on for some price points and pontificating if your interest is piqued.

First, the goods; hardware.

Right off the bat, it’s a bit more beefy than it’s spiritual predecessor, the Motorola Droid. But the Droid technically has a larger screen resolution. Google’s 4GB offering is a little stingy, considering the Droid came with 16GBs. But the CPU, however, is going to be the real heart of this phone. 1GHz is a huge step up from what we’ve traditionally seen inside phones, and twice as fast as the Droid. And that could be Google’s secret weapon. The web is a twitter with stats that show the Nexus One crushing the Droid on benchmarks. No surprises there.

And 1Ghz is going to be needed, since Android 2.1 is loaded with visual goodies unlike any other OS. Video demonstrations show ‘live’ backgrounds that are animated and react to your touch (one example showed a rippling effect in a water background). The 3 home screens from Android 2.0 are now bumped up to 5. Scrolling through pages of applications are now done in a 3D Rolodex style animation. The picture gallery has been redesigned, and of course, numerous under the hood tweaks.

There’s no keyboard, however, there is multi-touch (unlike the crippled Droid) and a Blackberry-esque ‘pearl’ for navigation and notification (it lights up different colors).

While the Nexus One is the first phone to be sporting Android 2.1, rumor has it that it’ll be available for the Droid and other phones in the next coming weeks. If you’re antsy, just look around the web on how to port the Nexus One OS to the Droid. It works pretty well.

But here’s the interesting part: This phone is being offered completely unlocked and provider-free for $529 or with T-Mobile for $179. And unlike the Droid and iPhone, the phone won’t be locked down to a provider come Spring 2010. Google has already promised they’re working on a Verizon version.

With the iPhone exclusivity deal rumored to be ending around Spring 2010 — we could see quite a phone battle shaping up.