Hands on with the Google Phone: Nexus One 'super snappy' but not a VoiP-only phone

Technology bloggers have high hopes for Google's super slim Nexus One mobile phone, calling it the device that will change the way people communicate on their mobile phones - but a hands-on review may have debunked those claims.

The Nexus One was rumored to be a device that would revolutionize the overwhelming stronghold mobile operators have over their clients by totally bypassing carrier-voice calls and enabling users to make VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) only calls thus freeing consumers from mobile operator's "money-grabbing" constraints.

A technology blogger going by the name of Tnkgrl reportedly spent a few minutes with the "superphone," revealing that the Nexus One device she tried comes unlocked from any network and routes calls through mobile networks, not VoIP.

Tnkgrl reports that the phone comes equipped with a 4GB micro-SD card, a 1400mAh battery, an OLED screen that is the same size and resolution as Motorola's Android-powered Droid, uses a micro-USB connector for data and power and is currently running on Android 2.1.

The phone is "super snappy" says Tnkgrl and is "Faster than the Droid."

While the Nexus One is a multitouch smartphone it apparently lacks multitouch support for Google Maps or the native internet browser, meaning users won't be able to 'pinch' the screen to zoom in and out. Users have complained about a similar lack of pinch-to-zoom support for Google Maps and the on-board browser on Motorola's Droid.

Google is currently declining to provide further information about the Nexus One phone.

"The Nexus one is a present from Google to Googlers to allow them to test the phone and Android as we've said in the Mobile blog post but we have nothing else to announce at this stage regarding its future," Google's Emmanuelle Flahault-Franc told Relaxnews on December 15.

Site: http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/exclusive-google-nexus-one-hands-on/