The Google Phone is here. Sort of. Sure, we've seen the G1, the Droid, the Hero, and other smart phones running Google's Android operating system. But the Nexus One is different. Made by HTC, this is the only handset (at the moment) that runs the eye-candy-filled 2.1 version of the OS, and for the first time Google is selling an unlocked phone directly. If you buy it from Google it costs $529, but it's also available on contract from T-Mobile for $179. So is the Nexus One the Google Phone of fanboys' dreams? On the one hand, the phone has a slim, elegant design, a stunning 3.7-inch AMOLED display (with a beautiful new OS to match), and a fast 1.0-GHz processor that makes the experience feel even snappier than the Motorola Droid. And yet a few quirks, from tepid call quality to an occasionally error-prone typing experience, make us hesitant to knock other Android phones off our radar. After all, the 2.1 software is coming to other Android phones, too. In the end, the Nexus One isn't an iPhone killer, but it is the best Android phone available for T-Mobile, making it an Editors' Choice pick.
Design
At just 0.5 inches thick and 4.6 ounces, the Nexus One is a shade thinner than the iPhone 3GS (4.8 ounces). It reminds us of a longer HTC Droid Eris. When you hold the Nexus One, you don't feel the heft anchoring it to your hand like the Motorola Droid. However, despite feeling almost too light, the Nexus One still feels durable and well-made.
The enormous 3.7-inch (800 x 480) screen on the Nexus One is the same resolution as the HTC HD2, only the HD2's screen is 4.3 inches. So you've got more pixels crammed onto a smaller (but still large) space, amounting to a very sharp image. However, the Droid's 3.7-inch display has a 854 x 480-pixel resolution, which means you have to scroll slightly less 
often. Because it's an AMOLED display, the colors on the Nexus One are stunning, although the downside to them being so brilliant is that they can also appear over saturated.
With the exception of a thin black bezel surrounding the screen, the phone has a matte gray build. A thinner strip of metal adorns the edge of the phone, and is a lighter shade of gray-taupe than the rest of the device. While the colors match, some might prefer a less distracting monochrome design, like the iPhone.
On the left side of the Nexus One is a thin volume rocker, which we had no problem manipulating during a phone call (more on call quality later). The back side of the phone has a removable plastic battery cover and houses the 5.0-megapixel camera and LED flash. With the exception of Google's and HTC’s logos (Google’s is larger and more prominent), there’s plenty of blank space. Google says that users can have up to two lines of text engraved at no extra charge. The idea, as with Android 2.1, is to give users more ways of personalizing the phone.
