It’s only just 2010, so it might seem madness to be talking about 2011 already. But by this time next year, the iPhone may well have been dethroned. And that's because, finally, the first mobile that can truly claim to rival Apple’s chart-topper has landed: Google’s Nexus One.
The sci-fi starship-named ‘Nexus One’ enters a congested marketplace, overwhelmingly dominated by the monolithically successful iPhone. While Nokia and others might have you believe that the smart-phone world is a competitive oligopoly, the truth is that Apple’s iPhone 3G is so far ahead of its rivals, it’s pushed into a whole new marketplace altogether.
The arrival of the Nexus One clearly draws the battle lines for the most anticipated technological conflict of 2010. Google and Apple no longer produce smart-phones, because the iPhone and the Nexus One are far more than merely ‘smart’. They’re masterminds, they’re genius-phones.
Google’s offering trumps Apple when it comes to features, with a 5MP camera (with flash) compared to the iPhone 3G’s paltry 3.2MP snapper. It also offers built in satnav capability, which would cost extra on Apple’s trailblazing handset, as well as a much neater realisation of voice control.
Developed closely with HTC, who were responsible for previous Google-OS touting phones, the Nexus One is pencil-thin, and the chassis seems very tidy indeed. But it’s not onboard features or even necessarily the actual handset that really matters anymore – because it’s all about the operating system and apps now.
Unlike the somewhat clunky Windows mobile, Google’s Android rivals Apple’s mobile OS when it comes to smooth, suave functionality. There’s been no comment as of yet on whether the Nexus One will support multitouch, but with the fastest mobile Internet browser around, Google is clearly looking to put one over on Apple.
Perhaps the most important battle of all is the app marketplace. The iTunes App store currently offers around 115,000, whereas Google’s Android marketplace can only boast 20,000. Expect that gap to narrow soon, but whether Google can catch Apple, and recruit the same level of developer buy-in with its open source approach is key in deciding whose head the genius-phone crown will sit on this time next year.
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