Well, after loads of teasing over the last month or so, Google today finally came out and officially announced their own phone– the Nexus One. As it turns out a lot of those inital rumors were in fact spot on, but that’s not to say Google didn’t have some new surprises to show off today.

Ok, so let’s start with a confirmation on what we intially believed was in the device: T-Mobile 3G, 3.7 inch AMOLED screen, trackball, WiFi (including the latest and fastest wireless N), Android 2.1, 5 megapixel camera with flash and video recording, GPS and compass, 3.5 mm headphone jack and a 1 GHZ Snapdragon processor (for great speed, power and multi-tasking).

There also are the 2 mics for better call quality (for the times when you actually use your phone, as well, a phone) — one is just a reg mic, the other is for noise cancellation so the other end of your call mainly hears you– and that thin, sleek, all touchscreen design. Like the iPod, you can also order the phone engraved with with your name, special message- whatever you want. Oh, and this design is mad thin, like actually pencil thin!

Ok, so that the main specs, now what about this Android 2.1?

Android 2.1 is actually a pretty cool upgrade to the Android OS. Sure it ain’t anything major (unlike some rumors that said this would be a whole different version of Android), but there is still a lot in here that make this a solid update to Android. Here are a few of the main things you’ll notice on 2.1:

• Live Wallpapers– What Google has done here is they’ve taken you standard homescreen wall paper and made it interactive. Meaning its now more than just a pic, but rather a moving, changing Wallpaper, that in some cases even interacts with touch (such as in one wallpaper, you can touch anywhere on the screen and watch a series of blue, red, yellow and green dots fly out from where you touched. Not terribly practical but still pretty cool).
  
• Voice to Text– Google has put into pretty much everyplace you would have a keyboard to put in text– from a search bar, to a note pad to even text, IM and email writing, the ability to speak and have the phone “write” it in for you. Now this is very cool and actually useful.
• Google Maps Navigation (like on the Droid)
• 5 Homescreens (up from the previous 3)– with new widgets for weather, news, Facebook, etc.

This, of course, is all on top of the Android we know and love, so there’s still the Android Market, YouTube, Gmail apps, etc.

Ok, so now to plans, and here’s where things get real interesting (in both good and bad ways).

As we know, Google is selling this phone in 2 ways: either for $180 with a 2 year T-Mobile contract, or $530 unlocked. Now the T-Mobile plans were rumored this week to be just one plan, and really only for new customers. Fortunately, however, existing T-Mobile customers can upgrade and buy the new phone online, directly from Google, for $279.99 if you’re adding a data plan to your contract, or $379.99 if you’re upgrading your data plan to 500 whenever minutes with unlimited T-Mobile to T-Mobile and unlimited nights and weekends, as well as unlimited texting and internet. Unfortunately, if you’re on a family plan, Google says that you should buy the unlocked Nexus One (for the much more expensive $530), and then call T-Mobile about a plan. Why Google and T-Mobile are doing this, we don’t know.

Now just to end all this carrier talk on a little brighter note, Verizon is getting the Nexus One this Spring! What the plans and prices are like and more details like that we don’t yet know, but we do know it’s coming.

Alright, so you may be thinking– now that Google finally made their own phone, what does this mean for Android? As of right now, we honestly can’t say a whole lot will change. The phone is still made by HTC (makers of the G1, Hero, Droid Eris), not Google, and Google even recommends for Verizon users who can’t wait for the Nexus One to order the Motorola Droid now (even putting a link on their order page). Heck, don’t be surprised if we see 2.1 updates come out for the Droid and other current Android devices.

Now could this be the phone that finally beats the iPhone as the ultimate smartphone? In terms of design and power, it definitely can put up a strong fight though the limted options for getting a subsidized, cheaper version do hurt its chances in our eyes (we’ll see what happens once it hits Verizon).

So there you have it– everything you need to know about the Nexus One aka Google Phone. The Nexus One is available now unlocked and for T-Mobile and you can order it from Google’s site here.

A clear shot of the Nexus One, and Google’s site for the phone.

Remember the Nexus One, you know Google’s true “Google Phone“? A whole bunch of new info just came out on this highly anticipated phone, and while it doesn’t answer all the questions about the phone (no full confirmation on specs), it does seem to answer a fair share of them.

The most significant revelation is in terms of which networks will be carrying this phone and the available plans. Unlike previous rumors, Gizmodo and other sites are reporting that while the phone will be sold unlocked without a contract from Google’s site directly for a steep $530, it will have T-Mobile 3G (and only T-Mobile and Europe 3G, not AT&T), and will give the option to purchase the phone  at a dramatically subsidized $180 on 2 year contract with T-Mobile. However, only one plan appears to be currently available: $79.99 for 500 minutes, and unlimited text, and web. So if you’re on a family plan, your gonna need to buy the phone for the $530 unlocked price, which is something we honestly cannot believe is the only option, especially if Google and T-Mobile actually want to move a lot of phones.

But that’s not all. If you buy the phone on contract and decide to cancel your service within 120 days of service, you will either have to return the phone to Google, or you’ll need to pay the remaining the $350.

On the hardware front, the leaked info also talks about a home-and-car kit (you know, perfect for using this as your car’s GPS with Android’s Google Maps Navigation), and the originally leaked pix of the phone also appear to be the real deal. As for name and release, word is that Google will be calling this the Nexus One, and all the official details should be made really soon, as Google has scheduled an Android-related press conference for Tuesday of next week.

Technically this is all still rumors, but don’t worry– whatever Google’s got planned and unveils next week, we’ll make sure your kept up to date.

Pix and info from Gizmodo and Engadget

The internet has been abuzz the last couple of days with something that is sure to be huge– we’re talking Apple Tablet-like huge. What is it? Well, as one Twitter user who claims to have seen it, put it– it’s “like an iPhone on beautifying steroids.” Those are some pretty strong words, so what are we talking about that’s so awesome? The gPhone of course. Yes, the Google Phone– the real Google phone designed/made BY Google, not just a phone running Android.

You ready for some details on something that looks to shake up the cell phone as we know it? Read on.

Ok, so here’s what we got so far.

Google has over the past couple of days has given out to employees an secret, unknown unlocked device that  looks to be something we’ve never seen in an Android phone. We’re talking design possibly thinner than iPhone, equipped with AT&T AND T-Mobile 3G (a first for any phone), Android 2.1 (or some other version of Android we haven’t seen before), a high resolution OLED screen (like the awesome one found on Sprint’s Samsung Moment, just even better), 2 mics– one for regular voice, one for noise canceling, a 1 GHZ processor (meaning a REALLY, REALLY fast phone), and a new voice to text feature that will let you take notes or write emails just by using your voice (yeah, meaning you could have this take notes for you)! As you can see this is pretty big stuff.

The phone is said to be designed by Google and made by HTC (though with Google logos and branding all over the phone), and will possibly be sold unlocked by Google directly (meaning you buy the phone from Google first and then can pick whatever carrier you want), as well as possibly being sold through whoever carries the device (some say T-Mobile, others say this will be AT&T’s first Android phone– as they may lose the iPhone next year, some say it’ll be on both, with other reports saying Verizon was first offered the phone by Google and said no). And remember, Google has even confirmed a device like this exists on their own blog! So what this phone look like? Here’s one rumored shot.

The Google Phone/Nexus One?

Yeah, not bad at all. The phone is said to be referred to as the Nexus One (odd name we know), and the current rumors suggest that the wait for Google to make this all official ain’t that long either, possibly even in January.

So, your probably wondering, what makes this so big? Well, this seems like just a start of yet another awesome Android device, and should really shake up the cell phone market as Google goes with the Palm, BlackBerry and Apple approach of making both the hardware and the software– in simple terms, a sick phone that is sure to lead to not only better Android phones (I mean, this is Google showing how they do Android, and seeing as they made Android, you know they’re gonna do it really well), but expect a lot of better phones from Apple, Palm, BlackBerry and everyone else as they try to fight Google.  Google has enough money and power (as shown with how badly they killed the big GPS market when they announced Google Maps Navigation), that when they wanna do something, you better beware.

The news of a Google Phone is just beginning (everything we got so far is still in the very early phases and just rumors), and we’ll make sure to keep you up to date on all the news as Google looks to really shake up the cell phone world, but we wanna know– would you buy a device like the one we described above? You think Google is really making a “Google Phone”? Let us know in the comments.

Info from Engadget, Tech Crunch, and Google Mobile Blog.