• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 5, 2010

Google has unveiled the Nexus One, a device the Mountain View, Calif. company calls a "super phone," to converge mobile with the Web. The platform will become the showcase for Google-developed applications to demonstrate what's possible on a mobile device.

The phone, announced Tuesday, had been anticipated since Google handed out the device to employees in December.

The Nexus One's 3.7-inch Amoled display, and 1-gigahertz processor from Qualcomm aims to bring the Android 2.1 3D graphic display to life. The phone has a trackball and a battery of technologies, including a compass and light sensor. It is 11.5 millimeters thin, about the thickness of a No. 2 pencil. The 5-megapixel still and video camera has a flash. The phone was designed in close partnership with HTC. Erick Tseng, senior product manager at Google, described the hardware specs and software features during the press event.

The phone supports Google Maps, Facebook integration, and quick contact to switch between social and communications applications. New software includes the ability to customize widgets. A concept of live wallpaper allows people to post an image that moves. For example, an image of water produces ripples when the person taps on the screen through a 3D capability. The open development platform will allow developers to create apps, too.

The list of applications sit on a scroll wheel, which makes it easy to find one application among many stored on the phone. A new way to explore pictures lets you store photos in clusters based on time, date and location. The photos sync to Picasa Web to share pictures with friends. The device also supports WiFi, although it's unclear whether the first version will support the technology. A variety of devices will follow Nexus One.

Google didn't forget voice features. Last year, the company launched an application that lets you search by voice. On the Nexus One, every application on the device is voice-enabled, including the ability to create an email or tweet on Twitter. The voice command should allow people to write an email much more easily without a qwerty keyboard. Voice commands in Google Earth allow you to search for a location by speaking the name of the destination.

The company's focus on marketing and advertising will be reflected in the tools used throughout the entire phone -- and on pursuing opportunities from mobile advertising that agencies have expected for years, rather than making money on the margin sales of the hardware.

Google will sell Nexus One through a Google-hosted Web store with or without service. The store aims to provide a simple purchasing process through Google Checkout. T-Mobile USA will support the initial service plan starting at $179. An open phone without service starts at $529. The plan is to provide service through multiple carriers, including Verizon in the U.S. and Vodafone in Europe.

The Google Web store launches in the U.S., shipping to three test markets: the U.S., the U.K. and Singapore. Through the store, Google becomes the merchant of record -- although HTC, a company that took a risk on the Android phone from the beginning, is the manufacturer and shipper.