The rumored and much anticipated Google Phone, aka “Nexus One” does exist. A few days back, the Internet was all abuzz with this new device from Google. First rumors about this device including the first “leaked” photos came out from Twitter. Cory O’Brien, the person who shared one of the first leaked photos of the Nexus One tweeted this: “Google Phone = iPhone + a little extra screen and a scroll wheel. Great touch screen, and Android.”

The Nexus One will be built by Taiwanese phone maker HTC, running on Google’s Android 2.1 operating system and sold under the Google brand. Based on the leaked photos, the Nexus One looks exactly like the HTC Passion/Bravo which also had some leaked photos a couple months back, except that the former doesn’t have the HTC logo on it. The first ones to test the Nexus One are Google employees who were given units of these new device for testing purposes as stated on their mobile blog:

We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it.

Here are the alleged specs of the Google Phone aka the Nexus One:

• 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor
• OpenGL ES 2.0-capable graphics
• Noise-cancellation chipset
• AM-OLED touchscreen (3.5, 3.7, 4.3 inch?)
• Trackball and no physical keyboard
• 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
• Bluetooth 2.1 EDR
• microSD card
• GPS
• Proximity and ambient light sensor
• Accelerometer and magnetic compass
• FM stereo tuner
• Quad-band GSM/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• Tri-band HSPA (900/1700/2100 MHz)

And here are some exclusive photos of the Nexus One from Engadget:

Boy Genius Report also has some photos on their website and one has a Nexus One side-by-side with an Android G1, where it shows the Nexus One to be about half thinner than the G1.

The specs aren’t official yet, so we can’t really say if the Nexus One will have all the features to be a strong competitor against the Apple iPhone, Motorola Droid and other smartphones but based on the photos, I can say that its one beautiful and sexy device. As there’s been no official word/statement or announcement from Google about the Nexus One, it’s still unclear whether Google will be selling the Nexus One via retailers/cellphone carriers or directly to consumers and also how much is it gonna cost. Rumors say that it will be sold unlocked and is compatible to T-Mobile and AT&T networks. But based on the 3G support and the previous relationship it has with Google, T-Mobile could most likely get this device exclusively. There’s so many vague details about the Nexus One so I guess the only thing we can do is to wait and see what Google’s plans are for it.

Based on the information and the photos we have about this new device, what can you say about the Google Phone aka Nexus One? Please share your thoughts.

[image source: Engadget]

Microsoft launched Windows Mobile 6.5 today and with that, they released several mobile phones running their new mobile OS. The list includes the Toshiba TG01, HTC Pure, HTC Tilt 2, HTC Imagio and the HTC HD2.

The most anticipated device among these mobile phones is the HTC HD2 which is more popularly known by its codename “Leo”. The HTC HD is the first Windows Mobile powered phone that features HTC’s Sense UI. It features a 4.3″ WVGA capacitive touchscreen display, a 1GHz Snapdragon procoessor, a 5 megapixel camera, 512MB ROM/448MB RAM, 7.2Mbps UMTS/HSPA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and G-Sensor.

Here’s a hands-on video of the HTC HD2 from SlashGear.

Product Photos:

I loved the HTC HD and I definitely love the HTC HD2 more! Not only does it have a bigger screen, it also has a faster processor and a more beautiful user interface, thanks to the HTC Sense UI.

Good news for HTC fans here in the US. Unlike its predecessor the HTC HD, the HTC HD2 will be brought here in North America and will be available early next year, 2010. No word yet though on how much will this mobile phone cost but I’m hoping it wouldn’t be too expensive.

A couple days ago, Toshiba officially introduced the Toshiba TG01 smartphone. This mobile internet device looks like something that is geared to compete with the popular Apple iPhone 3G and Android powered G1. The Toshiba TG01 is only 9.9 mm thick but it boasts a 4.1″ WVGA full touch screen display (800 x 480 pixels). It runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 and comes with Internet Explorer Mobile 6 (full support for Flash). The Toshiba TG01 is the first device in the world to run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon platform (1GHz mobile CPU).

Toshiba TG01′s internal memory is only 512 MB but has a microSD card slot that supports up to 32 GB. It has support for DivX videos and unlike other WinMo powered devices, the TG01 doesn’t use RealPlayer as the default multimedia player but instead it uses CorePlayer which is considered the best mobile multimedia player around.

Specifications:

• Windows Mobile 6.1
• 1.0 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD2850
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
• 3G/HSDPA
• Bluetooth 2.0
• 3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels
• GPS/aGPS support
• Accelerometer
• 512MB internal, up to 32GB storage via microSD
• 4.1 inches (480×800 pixels) full touch screen display
• microSD slot

Additional Photos:

Below is the official video released by Toshiba. It gives us a closer look at the Toshiba TG01′s features including the custom 3D GUI and the on-screen keyboard.

The Toshiba TG01 comes in two colors – black and white and as always, our European friends will be the first to get their hands on it this summer. So far no word regarding which operator/carrier gets it or how much it will be sold. I hope they’ll also release it here in the US or North America.

Based on the photos, videos and specifications I can say that I’m very impressed with the Toshiba TG01 except for one thing, the striped custom Toshiba 3D GUI which I think is ugly. But overall, the Toshiba TG01 is a slim and sexy mobile device that packs a punch.

So what do you think of the Toshiba TG01? Is it worthy enough to compete with iPhone 3G or G1?

[via Engadget; video by MegaWhat.tv]