Google unveiled its first mobile phone last night to take on its rival Apple. The Nexus One handset uses software designed by the internet giant and will take on the dominant iPhone, which is used by 25million people worldwide. Its launch, coupled with the launch of an internet store for customers to purchase the phone, is likely to prompt an explosive marketing battle between Google and Apple for supremacy.
The Nexus One has 3D features such as moving wallpaper and harnesses Google creations such as Google Streetview, Latitude and Gmail. Technology experts believe the next three years will provide the key battleground as to who will dominate the handheld gadget market.
As a result of innovations such as the iPhone, fewer devices are needed to perform an array of functions such as listening to music, watching TV, playing games and talking on the phone. Mario Queiroz, Google's vice-president of product management, launched the phone at a press conference in 
'It is the next step in Android evolution. It is where the web meets the phone,' he said.
Android is an operating system developed two years ago by Google for other companies to use its apps. People in the U.S.
Unlocked means customers can use any Sim card whereas with the iPhone user is the UK UK
The smartphone has similar dimensions to the iPhone and is 11mm deep and weighs 130g. However, not only does the Nexus have a bigger screen (3.7in compared to the iPhone's 3.5in) - it also has an OLED screen. This gives brighter colours and better contrast than the iPhone's LCD screen. The Nexus should also take better pictures with a 5MP camera with LED flash, compared with iPhone's 3MP camera. Nexus One has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, which means users will be able to use multiple apps without losing any speed. This is far more powerful than the 600 MHz processor on the iPhone 3GS. It runs on Android 2.1 - the latest version of Google software. This offers Google Maps Navigation, which effectively acts as a car sat-nav, multiple Gmail accounts and thousands of applications through the android market.
Other features include a trackball that pulses one of three colours to indicate an incoming e-mail, call or text message. There are two microphones on the Nexus, which Google says cancels out background noise allowing a clear call on a busy street. The phone will also recognise when it is moved from outside to inside and will change screen brightness accordingly. Google product manager Erick Tseng said they were also eager to show how '3D' could add to the phone user's experience.
'You really have a mini computer in your pocket,' he added.
'We wanted to show just how far 3D has come. We have live wallpapers that have a ripple effect, desktop icons with added depth and a new gallery application where you can tip photos away from you to get a better view.'
Another new application uses voice recognition, so phone users can talk into the phone and the Nexus will type out their speech. This can then be e-mailed or texted to others. Google said the app would be 'trained' to the user's voice the more it was used.
The iPhone doesn't have this function built in, but there are a number of applications in the App store that will turn your voice into text. No one at Google would be drawn on whether the Nexus One would live up to its billing as an 'iPhone killer'. 'It's a "super phone", and it provides choice for the customer,' said Mr Queiroz in response. The Nexus One is named after a type of ‘replicant’ cyborg in Ridley Scott’s cult science-fiction film Blade Runner. It has a sci-fi looking two-dimensional bar code on the back which identifies each handset. Google's phone is a big step for the search giant that, until now, has offered phones only in partnership with other companies. It set its sights on developing its own so-called ‘smartphone’ because they are becoming an increasingly important way of accessing the internet. As more people go online using their mobile phones, the firm aims to deliver more ads to them. The search engine giant hopes to take on Apple’s iconic iPhone, which has become, since its launch in 2007, the benchmark in the rapidly growing market. Google revealed its open-source Android operating system nearly two years ago. Until now, the company has been content to let other companies such as Samsung and Motorola design devices relying on Android. And those devices thus far have largely been distributed like most other mobile phones, tethered to major wireless carriers which typically require buyers to lock in to contracts in return for discounts on the handsets.
But Google now appears to be ready to push its operating system in a new direction while trying to give consumers more flexibility to connect a mobile phone with the wireless carrier of their choice. The Google briefing is likely to overshadow the opening tomorrow of the world's biggest gadgets show, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas
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