The Google Nexus One has been much hyped as a “true” Google phone. Although plenty of phones run Google’s Android OS, the search giant’s rarely held a manufacturer’s hand through the construction process as it has here with HTC. Is the result the ultimate Android smartphone? Find out in our full Google Nexus One review.

Holding the Google Nexus One in your hand, you can tell it’s an HTC phone: the teflon, casing is straight from the HTC Hero. This time round though, it’s housing much more power and a better screen – it’s bigger (3.7-inches), sharper (800×480) and AMOLED, a newer screen technology which renders much deeper, richer colours which almost pop out from the screen.

AMOLED is also less power hungry than traditional LCD, so you won’t see a hit on the battery life with it – we pounded the Google Nexus One with Wi-Fi, calls and web surfing and it lasted from morning until night with no problems.

Where the Google Nexus One differs from the HTC Hero distinctly though is in its software: it’s running the latest version of Android, 2.1, with no HTC Sense UI. That does mean you can’t get HTC’s Facebook and Twitter integration, but Google’s vanilla operating system is frankly just as good now, as you can pull up Facebook and other ways to give someone a bell just by holding down on their name in your contacts.

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Win a Google Nexus One

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Android 2.1 on the Google Nexus One also comes with some lovely visual touches, including animated homescreens – of which there are now five rather than three – and a menu screen with icons that roll behind the screen as you scroll in a smart 3D effect. It’s nothing anyone with an Android 2.0 Motorola Milestone should get jealous of, but it does go along way to helping Android catch up with the iPhone in visual flair and eye candy.

With Google holding the reigns on the software this time, HTC’s taken the opportunity to come through with a decent camera on the Google Nexus One too. Although the sensor is the same resolution as that on the Hero and HTC HD2, the shots we took do seem less washy, and it fires off and process snaps very quickly.

So far, so great, but the Google Nexus One is by no means perfect however, and in some ways, HTC hasn’t fixed the bugbears we had in last year’s Hero. While audio quality on regular calls are reasonable, the speakerphone is woeful, and the cheap-feeling trackball is still with us. The touch-sensitive home and menu buttons aren’t particularly responsive either – you’ll need to give each one a firm, lengthy smush to get a reaction.

We also haven’t noticed a huge speed boost now that there’s a faster 1GHz Snapdragon processor under the bonnet. The Google Nexus One is certainly snappier than the first generation of Android phones, but we’re still seeing the same stuttering on videos, and worse, it’s sometimes visible on the now animated homescreen too.

Still though, there’s no denying that the Google Nexus One is the best Android phone so far. The big, beautiful screen sets a standard for all smartphones running all platforms to follow, and there’s no botched QWERTY keyboard tacked on to weigh things down as with the Milestone. And Android itself continues to improve with leaps and strides. When it comes to smartphone software, it really is only a two-horse race between Android and the iPhone now.

But the step up with the Google Nexus Ones is still only evolutionary, so don’t expect the world – just one very smart, well-polished and usable touchscreen phone.

Verdict
The best Android phone yet – but probably not for long

Love
Beautiful screen, beautiful case, Android faster than ever

Hate
Video and animations are still choppy. Trackball is poor

The spec
Screen: 800×480, 3.7-inches, AMOLED
Connectivity: HSDPA, Wi-Fi, a-GPS, A2DP Bluetooth
Camera: 5MP
Battery life: 7/250 hours talk/standy on 3G
Storage: Up to 32GB via microSD card
Size/weight: 119×59.8×11.5mm/130g