The Nexus One has some advantages over the iPhone. The device is some millimeters flatter and its integrated wireless adapter supports the faster 802.11n standard. Even the display with its 800 x 480 pixels provides a markedly better resolution than the iPhone's 480 x 320 pixels, although Android fans will have to forego multitouch support for the moment.

The device marketed and sold by Google is produced by mobile phone maker HTC, which already has a few Android devices in its repertoire, among them the first Google phone.

The Nexus One will be distributed at first in the U.S. (T-Mobile and Verizon) and England (Vodafone). With a two-year contract, the device should cost under $200 in the U.S., without a service plan, about $530. The Nexus One should become available in Europa in the spring of 2010.

Some data:

• Qualcomm processor QSD 8250 with 1 GHz
• 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, 2X digital zoom, LED flash and ability to capture video at 720 x 480 pixels (20 frames per second)
• UMTS band, HSDPA, HSUPA, GSM/EDGE (in frequency bands 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1
• Storage on 512-MByte Flash, 512-MByte RAM and 4-GByte Micro SD card (expandable to 32 GBytes)
• Audio decoders include AAC LC/LTP, MP3, MIDI SMF and Ogg Vorbis
• Video codecs H.263 and MPEG-4 SP
• Graphic formats JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP
• AGPS receiver, digital compass and sensors for light, proximity and acceleration
• Battery is 1400 mAH and replaceable
• Phone measures 4.7 x 2.4 x 0.5 inches and weighs 4.6 ounces