For the sake of this review, we won't look at the Nexus One hardware in great detail. Suffice to say, the 1GHz Snapdragon processor makes the phone extremely fast and the 3.7 inch AMOLED screen simply looks gorgeous. While it isn't much bigger than the iPhone's screen, the difference in resolution (800x400) is quite noticeable. We didn't get a chance to formally test the phone's battery life, but unless we made extensive use of the GPS, it easily got through a day's use without needing a recharge.

The phone's five megapixel camera works just as advertised - though the camera app isn't the prettiest app on the phone. Picture quality was generally on par with pictures from the iPhone 3GS, though the built-in LED flash gives the phone an important additional feature that Apple doesn't currently offer.

In the long run, the big difference between the two platforms isn't the hardware but the operating system. After all, the iPhone 3GS is also quite fast and we haven't heard a lot of complaints about the iPhone's screen. Android 2.1 isn't a major step up from version 2.0, but it does introduce some notable new features, including the ability to use voice in every application that brings up the built-in virtual keyboard.

Android 2.1

While the Nexus One isn't an iPhone killer, it's already on par with Apple's phone in many regards. As Google and the developer community that has grown around Android continues to improve the OS, it is only a matter of time before Apple will have to react with an updated version of its iPhone OS.

Here are some of the features that make the Nexus One and Android 2.1 a winner in our opinion. We should note there are some unresolved customer service and hardware issues that have made headlines over the last few days. We didn't experience any of these problems ourselves, but your mileage may vary.

Nexus One and Android 2.1 vs. the iPhone

• Google Navigation: When it was released for Android 2.0, we described Google's own GPS application as the first "killer feature" for Android. Google hasn't really updated this app in 2.1, but it remains one of the signature features for Android. This is also one of the many apps that showcases Android's ability to multitask. On the iPhone, for example, you have to exit the GPS app while you check your email. On an Android phone, the app simply continues to run in the background and continues to give you voice prompts.
• Voice Recognition: We were quite skeptical about this feature at first. Every time Android 2.1 brings up the keyboard, you now have the option to dictate text into the phone. This works surprisingly well and makes writing a quick email or tweet very easy. Some apps, including Google Navigation, can also handle more complex voice commands. On the iPhone, the newly updated Dragon Natural Speaking app works similarly well, but suffers from the fact that it isn't integrated into every application on the phone.
• Multitasking: Other smartphones like the Palm Pre also feature multitasking for third-party apps and handle switching between these apps better than Android. At the same time, though, one of the iPhone Achilles' heels is its inability to run more than one non-Apple app at a time. No such problem with Android, though running a lot of apps in the background can put a lot of strain on the battery.
• Back Button: Besides the volume controls, the iPhone only features one button. The Nexus features quite a few more (back, menu, home, and search, plus a trackball). The back button is likely the most useful of these and works just like your browser's back button. On the iPhone, whenever an app takes you to a browser, the app quits and opens up the browser, leaving you no easy way to get back to the app. On Android phones, you simply click the back button and you're back to where you started.
• Google Voice: If you use Google Voice, you are surely aware of the controversy around getting the Google Voice app on the iPhone. On Android, it's simply a built-in feature and works perfectly. You can even set up the phone to route international calls through Google Voice by default.
• Photo Gallery: Google worked with Cooliris to integrate the company's signature 3D-view of your photos into the Android photo gallery app. This is easily the prettiest and most useful default gallery app we have seen on any phone to date.
• Google Integration: If you are heavily invested in the Google universe, then setting up Android is as easy as it gets. When you first start up the Nexus One (or any other Android phone for that matter), the phone will ask you for your Google Account credentials. Once you enter these, the phone will set up all the Google apps on the phone for you. The phone sets up your email accounts and downloads contacts from Google Contacts. The gallery app connects to Picasa and the calendar connects to Google Calendar.

Areas for Improvement

But there are also some areas where the iPhone is still a clear winner:

• Music: For now, Android's music app doesn't come close to the iPhone's native iPod app. While it's not woefully bad, it also doesn't come close to the design and functionality of the iPhone.
• User Interface: While Android 2.1 looks pretty nice and offers some cool new eye candy like animated wallpapers, Apple is still one step ahead of Google when it comes to the fit and finish of the built-in apps. Also, while we love the back button on the Nexus One, using the menu button isn't very intuitive and quite a few people we showed the phone to struggled to understand its functions.
• App Store: No doubt, Apple's App Store features far more applications than the Android Market. Especially when it comes to games, Apple beats Google hands down.
• OS Updates for Everybody: You can reasonably assume that the iPhone you buy today will be supported with OS updates for the two years of your contract. With Android, you can't be so sure about that. It's still a moving target and quite a few early adopters are still stuck with Android 1.5 because their vendors never updated the phone or because their phones don't feature the necessary hardware to run later versions of the OS.

As we pointed out last week, the Nexus One and Android 2.1 aren't quite ready for the enterprise yet, and Google has to work on the security features of the phone and software before it can become a major player in this market. Google, however, is aware of this and is already working on an enterprise version of the phone.

Verdict

Overall, we were very impressed with the phone's hardware and software. Android 2.1 could still benefit from some design work, but in terms of features and functionality, Android can now easily compete with the iPhone.

Disclaimer: Google provided us with a loaner unit and a working SIM card free of charge.

10:00 a.m. As usual, the event is running a bit late.

10:06 a.m. Getting started. VP of Product Development takes the stage to talk about the Open Handset Alliance.

"We will unveil the next generation of the evolution of Android today."

Recapping the history of Android hardware (G1, myTouch, Droid)

10:10 a.m. "A year ago we had 1 device, now we have 20 devices on 59 carriers."

Google wants to prevent fragmentation - talking about compatibility test suite.

"Android today is about getting more users onto the mobile web." Android users search the web over 30-times more on Android than on feature phones.

From the beginning, Android was always about being developer friendly.

Talking about being able to multi-task (a subtle swipe at the iPhone?)

The Next Step in the Android Evolution

10:15 a.m. "We are only in the early stages of the evolution of Android."

Volume and variety of Android devices has exceeded Google's expectations. "But we want to do more."

Wants to work closer with hardware partners to showcase the software.

Announcing the Nexus One

"Where Web Meets Phone"

10:18 a.m. Google calls this a new category of phones: "super-phones"

On stage now: Peter Chou, CEO of HTC.

Talking up the Nexus One: "The Nexus One is one of the best designs from HTC." Outstanding display, fast processor.

"It pushes the limits of what is possible on a mobile phone today."

Chou leaves the stage after posing with the phone...

10:22 a.m. In depth look at Nexus One

Erik Tseng takes the stage to demo the phone.

Hardware: 3.7 inch AMOLED display - WVGA. "Deep contrast and brilliant colours."

1 GHz processor - fast processor = less slowdowns.

Trackball works as notifications tool. Will pulse when you get new messages.

130 grams - 11.5 mm thick

Sensors: light sensor, proximity sensor.

5 megapixel camera

New for Android: active noise cancellation - using two microphones.

10:29 a.m. Google will offer custom engraving (just like the iPhone...)

"With this hardware, we think we have half of the story. It's the combination of hardware and software that makes this such a great phone."

No surprise: Nexus One will come with Android 2.1

10:31 a.m. New features in 2.1: Customization

More homescreen panels - more widgets

Example: weather widget: knows where you are from GPS

Google expects to see more widgets from 3rd-party developers

Showing live wallpapers.

10:35 a.m.3D capabilities of the Nexus One and Android 2.1

App launcher: new twist - 3D scroll-wheel - icons sit on a 3D wheel instead of a flat page

New photo gallery - written with CoolIris

Everything scrolls smoothly - quite impressive. Looks just like CoolIris on the desktop.

Features background sync with Picasa Web Albums

10:39 a.m. Voice Commands

In 2.0: Voice queries ("directions to nearest Ikea")

In 2.1: Every text field is now voice-enabled.

Voice recognition learns every time you speak a query.

10:42 a.m. Sneak peek at Google Earth for Android

Also voice-enabled.

Clearly making good use of the fast processor. Everything scrolls very smoothly.

Buying the Phone: Google Hosted Web Store

10:45 a.m. How to buy the phone?

Google will sell the phone in its own web store.

Keeping it simple: buy phone without service ($529) - or with service from partners (T-Mobile $179).

For now, T-Mobile only. But: "Expect to add more carriers and hardware in the future."

Verizon Wireless and Vodofone will join the program.

Web Store

10:49 a.m. Demoing the Store

Purchasing all done in the store - no need to go to the physical store.

10:54 a.m. Recap

First phone of a series of phone - more operators, devices and countries coming in the future.

Showing demo video right now.

Q&A

11:00 a.m. Question: Why only such a small amount of space for app storage?

Answer: Soon, you will be able to store apps on SD cards

Question: Will it ship today?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Is this an iPhone killer?

Answer: Choice is a good thing.

Question: Whose inventory will the phone come from? What will you do to make the App Store more well-known?

Answer: Unlocked phone comes from Google. Regarding the Android Market: Marketing for Nexus One and new Web Store will be essentially online. Focused on making the store better.

Question: Why was it necessary for Google to design the phone? Why not just have an HTC phone that runs Android?

Answer: Google didn't design the phone - HTC did. Google is just the retailer and worked mostly on the software.

Question: What would convinces somebody to buy a $530 phone?

Answer: That's choice at work. "This is the early stages of a longer journey."

Question: Google isn't known for being a retailer.

Answer: "We shouldn't focus on retailing." Google wants to offer a complete solution and give consumers choice. Retail part is very important but just another channel - not a channel that will replace other channels.

Question: What's the revenue opportunity for Google?

Answer: These super-phones are great for accessing the Internet and that's where our business is. Hardware sales are not the big deal - just wants to get more people on the mobile web. "If you want the best possible Google experience you come to the store and get the device."

Question: Will it support tethering?

Answer: In future versions. Not a strategic issue but just something Google needs to implement.

Question: Is the physical keyboard dead? Will Google start to sell more products online?

Answer (from HTC): We offer lots of different phones and people can choose what best fits for them. This design is focused on the form-factor and screen. HTC offers other devices for "keyboard-lovers". From Google: The new voice input works very well and Google will soon offer other devices as well.

Question: Will other counties support multi-touch on the Nexus One?

Answer: It's a software thing. "We'll consider it."

Question: When will Google Voice launch publicly? What about the other phones that are coming soon? Will something awesomer come next month?

Answer: Other manufacturers will add more devices. "If you need a great phone today - the Nexus is a great phone." (Nothing about Google Voice in the answer.)

Question: Google wants to do revolutionary stuff? What's revolutionary about this phone? Why does Google get behind this phone if it's pretty average? Why not revolutionize the pricing structure with an ad-supported phone?

Answer: This is a baby step. Let's get the store going and then we can see what comes up in the future.

Question: Will people be able to check out the phone in retail store?

Answer: We want this to remain pure and simple. Marketing this online-only and selling online-only.

Question: What's the difference between a super-phone and a regular smartphone?

Answer: The big differentiator is the openness of the app store. This is as powerful as your laptop was a year ago.

Question: Question for Motorola: Will the Nexus One cannibalize sales of the Droid?

Answer: We try to deliver the best products we can. Will upgrade software on the Droid.

Question: Why does Google feel the need to change the way phones are bought? What's broken about the current system?

Answer: We are trying to optimize efficiencies. Just like web store revolutionized the way you buy a camera, Google wants to do the same thing for phones. After there are enough phones out there, you can experience it through using somebody else's. Marketing just increases prices.

Sidenote about partners: We would love to sell for Verizon and Vodafone right now - just have to integrate the IT.

Question: What can users expect in terms of software upgrades? Users never really know what phone will get the upgrade.

Answer: HTC wants to upgrade all of its phones (nothing specific). Google argues that some phones simply don't have the hardware capabilities for the upgrade. The intention is to make sure everybody gets some kind of future-proof hardware that can get upgrades for a certain amount of time. From Motorola: Intention to upgrade the device to the best software that the hardware can run. Not every device supports the 3D capabilities of Android 2.1, for example. Backward compatibility slows down innovation.

Question: Will Verizon get unlocked phones?

Answer: Unlocked phones are a problem with CDMA phones. Will only be sold with Verizon plan.

Question: Will you port Google Voice to the iPhone or will you suppress this to give Android an advantage?

Answer: Google Voice team isn't opposed to having its app run on other platforms.

Question: Didn't Google say it won't do a phone?

Answer: We don't do hardware.

11:43 a.m.: And that wraps up today's live blog. Thanks for reading!

Later today, Google plans to unveil its own smartphone, the Nexus One. According to new data from research firm Forrerster's new U.S. Omnibus Survey, Google is launching this phone at just the right time. Today, 17% of U.S. adult who subscribe to a cell phone plan use smartphones. This number is up from 11% in 2008 and 7% in 2007. Thanks to the growing importance of Android, Forrester thinks that 2010 will be "the year of the smartphone."

While Android and Apple's iPhone are clearly driving the adoption of smartphones - and the Nexus One will surely play its part in this in 2010 - it's important to note that BlackBerry still maintains its two-to-one advantage over the iPhone.

The Google Phone

It'll be interesting to see how Google will market the Nexus One. Thanks to numerous early reviews, there is very little that we don't know about the phone itself at this point. Chances are that Google has a few surprises up its sleeve for today's announcement. After all, the company must have known that today's press briefing would come long after all the details about the actual hardware of the phone had leaked already.

Best of Both Worlds?

What's most appealing about the Kogan Agora, at least based on these specs, is its promise to deliver the "best of both worlds." It combines the apps and music of the iPhone with the form factor and keypad of Blackberry. 

As much as some people love the iPhone, it's touch keyboard takes some getting used to. Some people never really get used to it - especially former Blackberry users or those who are comfortable with a two-hand typing experience. Switching to the iPhone is a move these folks need to think carefully about. Although they gain a combo media player/phone and applications galore at their fingertips, they have to sacrifice the typing experience they consider to be ideal. For heavy email users and texters, giving up the keyboard may be a deal-breaker.

Then along came Google's Android OS. Now you can have both music and apps and the possibility of using a real hardware-based keyboard. Unfortunately for Blackberry addicts, it first arrived on T-Mobile's G1 which came with a slideout keyboard. That was close, but it was hardly a recreation of the Blackberry experience.

The Kogan Agora, on the other hand, looks like the Blackberry (or perhaps the Blackjack) and includes all the Android goodness, too. Will this be the ideal combo? A Blackberry-esque media player that you can fill with downloadable apps? We'll have to wait and see once the phone arrives and reviews come in, but it definitely looks promising.

Google Phone Unveiled, Can it Beat the iPhone?

This week, Google, T-Mobile, and HTC came together to introduce the first phone running the Google mobile OS, Android. The overall message at launch was focused on openness. But will the future of the mobile internet be driven by open platforms? That's what Google is betting on with Android, but more importantly, it's what T-Mobile is hoping will stop the flood of customers leaving their service for AT&T's iPhone.

To entice customers away from the iPhone, we now have the G1, a slick alternative with a touchscreen and an app store of its own. The companies want you to believe the G1 is just as good, if not better, thanks to the real QWERTY keyboard and the open nature of the Google OS. Now that we have all the facts, are you convinced?

RWW Predictions: Google's Android vs. Apple's iPhone

This week we asked at RWW Predictions: will T-mobile or AT&T adjust their entry price point (either up or down) for the HTC Dream and the iPhone respectively in 2008? Nearly half of respondants said no, there won't be a price adjustment in 2008.

MySpace Music Launches

The long awaited MySpace Music service launched this week. We like what we see. It's going to be a very big deal.

Users will be able to assemble playlists from a huge catalog of songs from all four major labels and from independent distributor The Orchard, full length songs are all streamable for free, users will be able to purchase DRM-free MP3s through a close integration with the AmazonMP3 service and developers will have a gradually increasing amount of access to user activity data from the Music section. Screen shots in the post.

Muxtape Is Dead - Favtape Emerges as a Great Alternative

While Muxtape's Justin Ouellette posted a dire story about the shutdown of the popular mixtape service and his dealings with the music industry, Favtape has updated its service dramatically. Muxtape will effectively remain closed for the general public and will only return as a music hosting service for bands. Favtape, on the other hand, now looks like Muxtape on steroids, with embeddable playlists, album art, integrated YouTube search, a shuffle mode, and the ability to create tapes based on your last.fm and Pandora bookmarks.

SEE MORE WEB PRODUCTS COVERAGE IN OUR PRODUCTS CATEGORY

A Word from Our Sponsors

We'd like to thank ReadWriteWeb's sponsors, without whom we couldn't bring you all these stories every week!

• E.Factor is an online community for entrepreneurs.
• Strands provides real-time recommendations of products.
• Calais brings semantic functionality into your site.
• The Web 3.0 Conference is on October 16 - 17 in Santa Clara.
• Talklets is a Text to Speech system for your site.
• Compete Search Analytics is for search marketing campaigns.
• Direct Media Exchange is a solution for managing ad networks.
• Rackspace provides dedicated server hosting.
• The Defrag conference is on November 3-4 in Denver.
• EditMe lets you make a web site in minutes.
• Quintura is a visual-based search engine.
• Eurekster is a custom social search portal.
• MediaTemple provides hosting for RWW.
• SixApart provides our publishing software MT4.

Web Trends

RWW Live: Data Portability

In this week's episode of RWW Live, our podcast show, we discussed Data Portability - the ongoing campaign for open data across the Web. We had an amazing group of Data Portability leaders on the call: Chris Saad (Co-founder, DataPortability.org), Daniela Barbosa (Chair, DataPortability.org), Eran Hammer-Lahav (Open Standards Evangelist, Yahoo), and Angus Logan (Technical Product Manager for Windows Live Platform, Microsoft). Friend of RWW Chris Messina also popped into the call midway through. The discussion was very interesting, check out the recording here:

Download MP3

State of the Blogosphere 2008

Blog search engine and ad network Technorati released its 5th annual State of the Blogosphere report this week. Technorati says its findings indicate that blogging is now mainstream. We're not so sure. Although reading blogs is becoming increasingly mainstream, is writing them?

The Scannable World: Mobile Phones As Barcode Scanners

One of the promises of the mobile web was the possibility of being able to integrate the internet with the real world. One of the ways to accomplish this task is through the use of barcodes. The idea is that you take a picture of the barcode with your camera phone and you're then delivered to a mobile web site. This could effectively make anything - whether a poster, an ad, or an object - a virtual part of the world wide web. Although this technology has been available for years, it's only now with the birth of the smartphone, or more precisely, the next-gen smartphone, that the potential for this type of integration may finally be realized.

See also:
The Scannable World, Part 2: Scanning Your Web Printouts
The Scannable World, Part 3: Barcode Scanning In The Real World

Religion and Web Technology

This week, as part of our ongoing Mainstream Web Watch series, we looked into how religious groups are using Web technologies. In the first post we looked at LifeChurch.tv, a sophisticated rich media site that aims to preach Christianity over the Internet. What was really great to see is how LifeChurch is using best-in-class web apps to create each different aspect of their online presence - Twitter for real-time communication, Wufoo to create their online forms, Blip.tv for video teaching, Mogulus for live broadcasting, and so on. It has also developed its own web apps.

See also:
Religion and Web Technology, Part 2: Shalom Hartman Institute
Religion and Web Technology, Part 3: Inside Islam

SEE MORE WEB TRENDS COVERAGE IN OUR TRENDS CATEGORY

RWW Enterprise Channel

Zoho Part 2: The Cookbook

Last week, we covered how Zoho is defying conventional wisdom in the Web Office market. But is being unconventional all it takes for a bootstrapped start-up to take on both Microsoft and Google, in head to head evaluations by giant enterprises such as GE? Far from it. Whenever you see a surprising 'overnight sensation', you will usually find years of hard work and careful execution.

In Part 2 of this story, we revealed some of Zoho's cookbook.

Email us if you're interested in writing for ReadWriteWeb's Enterprise Channel.

SEE MORE ENTERPRISE COVERAGE IN OUR ENTERPRISE CHANNEL

That's a wrap for another week! Enjoy your weekend everyone.