Just about 16 hours ago, Google announced the release of its Nexus One smartphone (what i would call its flagship product in the Android mobile range by far). There’s been much hype about it, it’s all over Twitter and Facebook so i decided to forage around the Internet a little, affirming that it is one of the top topics on blogs, Twitter and search.

I will try to make this as short and sweet as possible, but i cannot promise much, as i’m currently very excitable about this Google phone (i’m amongst those who guiltily contributed to its popularity on the net).

Specs (hardware model is synonymous with HTC Passion):

- No physical keyboard

- 119mm (H) x 59.8mm (W) x 11.5mm (D)

- 130 grams (with a removable 30grams battery)

- 3.7inch, 480 x 800 OLED capacitive touchscreen

- 5 megapixel camera with LED flash

- 4 GB Micro SD Storage card (expandable to 32GB)

- Powered by Snapdragon 1 GHz core processor

..Awesome features?

Running on the Google mobile OS, Android 2.1, there is a smattering of features worth raving about. The most alluring one would be the its Google Voice integration, a voice-to-text capability, allowing you to control any text field there is on the device. So you basically can dictate the composition of an email message or Twitter update with your voice, while doing something else. Talk about efficient multi-tasking (you can also run multiple applications in the background, which currently isn’t available in all smartphones.)

We mustn’t forget Google Goggles, where you can search the web with images taken from the phone’s camera. Or the Google Earth app, with its high-res images, which additionally responds to voice input when you want to search for a location. Another much mentioned aspect is its “live” wallpaper, where you can interact with the graphics in the background.

Google Maps Navigation (beta) in the Nexus One is highly revered as well. With a bigger, higher resolution screen plus its faster processor, navigating around Maps would be more streamlined. This is further supplemented with turn-by-turn guidance, Satellite and Street-View imagery (the geographically challenged people like myself will be eager about this).

As with Google’s provision of cloud services (Google Apps), there will also be a Settings Backup service for Android that backs up profile, application, ringtone and other settings to the cloud. But even without it, you would be able to set up the phone in about ten minutes with your Google contacts, calendars, email and important applications.

Now..Where can I buy the Nexus One?

After gleaning all my information from the different tech gurus’ posts, I can’t wait to get my hands on a set. According to TechCrunch:

“The Nexus One is available “in large quantities” starting today at Google.com/phone. An unlocked GSM version of the phone that will work in most countries is $529….Google will ship the unlocked version of the phone to customers in the U.S., U.K., Hong Kong and Singapore.”

As soon as i read this, I tried to get a set by logging in to Google Checkout with my Gmail account, and i’m happy to find it available to “Rep. of Singapore” (note this, i made a mistake of searching for “Singapore” and panicked for a minute). Prices are in USD without local VAT/GST. If you pay attention to the website, there are even links to help estimate the total actual costs that you will end up paying for obtaining the phone.

The total cost would not be US$529, damn my selective reading. I try to find out how else to get my grubby hands on a set immediately, but local sources say this:

“This reporter viewed the event via a private live webcast and immediately ordered one for US$577.31 (S$806.65), which comprises US$529 for the device, US$19.99 for the power adapter and US$28.32 for shipping through DHL.” (My source is really just Straits Times)

Other than me, i’ve heard that other eager beavers are also wondering about the availability in Singapore, would it be available in our local telcom shops? (Please feel free to comment on this.)

I then get desperate, and was told about TechCrunch’s one free giveaway of the Nexus One. I quickly tweeted, and added a comment, pride isn’t going to get in the way now, everyone appreciates a good freebie. Please TechCrunch sirs, give me one!

I can’t wait to see how the Android OS is going to take over the mobile market. Maybe before we know it, App Store would be quickly shot down with the popularity of Google Smartphones. Like i said before, Android is already threateningly close to superseding the iPhone (as much as i’ve been hesitant to make comparisons in this post). If Google continues to pull out these newfangled technological tricks, it’ll just be a matter of time before they dominate the mobile market. No more iPhone Apps,

Welcome to the Android App marketplace.