Nexus One phone is launched by Google

Google has confirmed the release of its much-publicised Nexus One mobile phone, which was launched yesterday (January 5th).

Amit Sood, senior marketing manager at Google, used his Google Mobile blog to discuss some of the applications and functions that can be used by the revolutionary device.

Nexus One comes with many of the favourite Google applications – such as Maps, Search, YouTube and Google Talk – already installed, Mr Sood writes.

In addition to these, users will find a number of new gadgets included on their Nexus One, ranging from a voice-enabled keyboard to the maps navigation tool.

The voice-enabled keyboard allows owners to speak into their device and watch as it types out a text message or email for them.

Nexus One could become, along with Android smartphones, the major competitor of Apple’s iconic iPhone, which has enjoyed success since its release in 2007.

Further specifications of Google’s first foray into the world of mobile design include a 3.7 inch widescreen and a five megapixel camera.

It offers up to ten hours of talk time and as much as 290 hours on standby before recharging is required.

Whilst the iPhone currently offers significantly more applications – about 115,000 to Google’s 20,000 – one reviewer writing for the Telegraph is expecting the internet giant to catch up fast.

Matt Warman, the newspaper’s consumer technology editor, writes: “As more phones start to adopt Google’s operating system, Android is likely to catch up fast. And while Android can run a number of Apps at once, the iPhone can’t.”