by wildcherry on Saturday, January 2nd, 2010 | News, Tech/Gadget

Google officially challenges Apple in the cell phone market with their debut of the Google Nexus One.

The HTC-built and (soon to be) Google-sold device runs Android 2.1 atop a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, a 3.7-inch, 480 x 800 display, has 512MB of ROM, 512MB of RAM, and a 4GB microSD card (expandable to 32GB).

Google is expected to ring in the new year by unveiling its own smartphone on Tuesday, the Nexus One, in a bid to expand its powerful Web brand in the booming mobile arena.

The Internet search and advertising giant has already gained a foothold in the market with its Android mobile operating system, featured in a number of phones starting with T-Mobile’s G1 in October 2008 and more recently with the Droid from Motorola.

But the Nexus One, designed by Taiwanese handset maker HTC, represents a significant departure in that Google is expected to sell the Google-branded phone directly to consumers who will not be tied to any one telecom carrier.

Apple’s popular iPhone, for example, is available exclusively in the United States through AT&T, but buyers of the “Google phone” will reportedly have their choice of wireless carriers.

Technology blog Gizmodo, citing leaked documents, said the Nexus One will cost 530 US dollars “unlocked” — meaning it isn’t tied to a specific carrier — or 180 US dollars with a two-year service agreement with T-Mobile, a subsidiary of Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG.

Source:Fairfax Digital

Tags: Android, android 2.1, Android2.1, breaking news, BreakingNews, exclusive, google, google nexus one, google phone, GoogleNexusOne, hands-on, impression, impressions, nexus one, NexusOne, tmobile nexus one