• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, January 5, 2010

Frenzied speculation about the Nexus One finally climaxed today as Google unveiled its very own answer to the iPhone in an event at the company's Mountain View, Calif. headquarters. Confirming previously leaked details, Google plans to sell what it calls its "superphone" directly through Google.com/phone for $530 unlocked or $180 through a contract with T-Mobile.

Google will also sell an unlocked version of the phone to customers in the U.S., the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. A CDMA-compatible version of the Nexus One will be available through Verizon this spring as well as a European store offering a carrier plan via Vodafone. But enough about the details, what's the verdict of the digerati?

According to early reviews from a select few who had a chance to demo the device before its formal launch, the Nexus One lives up to the hype. In a video review posted Tuesday, Wall Street Journal gadget guru Walt Mossberg said the device was the first Android phone he could consider using as his handheld computer and could be a game-changer.

"Google has begun to move Android to a new level and to really heat up the competition between itself and Apple and [BlackBerry-maker] Research in Motion," he said. While the Nexus One still isn't as media-centric as the iPhone, he noted it does certain things better, like integrating social media contacts.

His comments were echoed by TechCrunch's Michael Arrington, who said he's been using the Nexus One since mid-December. He called it the fastest and most elegant smartphone on the market yet, "solidly beating the iPhone in most ways." Keep in mind that Arrington has previously vented his frustration with Apple's rejection of the Google Voice app, so his embrace of a device that deeply integrates that feature isn't too surprising.

Not everyone is as ecstatic about the Nexus One. Engadget said the phone "is at its core, just another Android smartphone." (Albeit a very good one.) But it's not the life-altering, earth-shattering device that some have suggested it might be.

Om Malik of GigaOm agreed the Nexus One was the best touchscreen available next to the iPhone, but isn't as smooth or effortless to use as the Apple device.

Setting aside the device itself, his colleague Stacy Higginbothom lamented that the Nexus One won't shake up the mobile industry simply by selling phones directly.

If Google really wants to open up the wireless world, it should build devices that can roam anywhere across different networks and get carriers to ditch phone SIM cards as a way to authenticate subscribers to reduce barriers to switching carriers, she advises. Easier said than done.

Had Google both subsidized and sold an unlocked phone itself that would also have gone a way toward changing the wireless status quo. As it is, people will have to either fork over more than $500 (ouch) for a Google phone or sign up for a typical two-year carrier plan to get a discount. And not many are going to choose the former option.