While Google has been in the mobile phone business by way of the Android OS and its plethora of amazing applications (through Android Market) for awhile, the Nexus One—launched last month in the USA—is its first hardware offering.

Google is marketing the phone as the first of the “Super Phones”. And, the claim may not be all that far-fetched. The phone is definitely worthy of attention from those who love the idea of mobile computing.

Powered by Android 2.0, the Nexus One features some of the much-used Google services we use on our PCs. To slim down the phone, Google has done away with the keyboard and opted for a capacitive touch screen only.  A trackball, similar to that used in the HTC Hero, is also provided to help with navigation.

Visually, the phone looks a lot like the Apple iPhone. In size and weight, it slightly beats out the iPhone—being both slimmer and lighter. The 1 GHz Snapdragon core processor is one of the fastest on the market and provides the power needed for heavy multi-tasking and game play. The phone also has an mini SD slot and comes with 4 GB expendable storage—expandable to 32 GB.

Currently, the Google Nexus One is available worldwide through the Google web store. It comes unlocked and sim-free. The problem here is when service will be available. Vodafone anticipates presenting their offering in early spring, while both 3 and T-Mobile have said they are on-board, but with no real details.