Now that some of the new gadget hysteria surrounding Google’s smartphone has waned a bit, we can examine it in greater depth and evaluate whether or not it has lived up to the hype. Once the honeymoon period of a new product launch ends, serious analysis can begin:

+ Pluses +
1. 800×480 AMOLED Display: Organic Light Emitting Diodes screens are still in their infancy and are featured on only a few handheld devices presently (Samsung Moment, Zune HD, Cowon S9, etc.), and no other smartphone has an AMOLED screen at this resolution. OLED is a mammoth upgrade over traditional LCD for color accuracy, lighting uniformity, viewing angles, and image sharpness –with the Nexus One touting a contrast ratio of 100,000:1. A smartphone’s display is arguably its most important hardware component because it is the canvas on which one gets work done. The Nexus One’s increased pixel count means that substantially more information can be shown on the screen than competitors like the iPhone.

2. Qualcomm 1GHz Processor: equipped with its new “Snapdragon” 1GHz CPU, the Nexus One is nearly double the clock frequency of other HTC smartphones. As of Android 2.1, the boosted CPU advantage seems to show appreciable benefits during general use, but when Android develops further, Snapdragon should crush its slower siblings.

3. Android 2.1: running a very refined Linux based OS with terrific potential, the Nexus One is arguably the best overall Android phone for sale (though Motorola Droid fans will disagree). Android 2.1 brings 3D effects for enjoyment. A budding open source community makes the closed iPhone apps store seem unfair.

4. Voice Command: aside from basic functions like dialing, Google’s voice command allows users to type via dictation and even search. The application is very accurate and certainly usable.

5. Battery Life: with a 1400mAH battery, the Nexus One claims to deliver up to 7 hours of 3G talk time per charge, a figure that is nearly double that of the HTC Hero with a similar battery. The Nexus One’s efficient OLED display probably accounts for some of the increased battery life.

6. Competitive Pricing for 2-Year Contract: if bought with a T-Mobile 2-year contract, the MSRP of $179.99 is quite reasonable and is actually cheaper than some technologically inferior smartphones.

7. HTC Design: for the most part, the Nexus One benefits tremendously from HTC’s expertise, and the phone is well made and carefully thought out. HTC has proven to be reliable, and the solid build quality of the Nexus One appears to continue the Taiwanese firm’s tradition. Quirky first generation bugs and idiosyncrasies have been ironed out (such as TouchFLO).

8. GSM: although having both CDMA and GSM is better, at least the Nexus One supports the SIMM card standard, which enables easy access to GSM carriers. This also means that Canadians and many internationals do not have to wait for the Nexus One to be officially available before they can start using it.

9. Good 5MP Camera: the image quality of the Nexus One is commendable, and the 480p video capture is fairly decent. The camera has flash and many adjustment options such as color balance. This smartphone is not going to replace anyone’s digital camera, but it more than suffices in an emergency.

10. Dedicated Volume Control & 3.5mm Headphone Jack: I cannot believe that some smartphones still do not have headphone jacks. Do these manufacturers not realize that their machines should replace portable media and music players? Also, having tactile volume controls can be incredibly handy for blind operation.

- Minuses -
1. No Multi-touch: are you kidding me? I can overlook multi-touch on budget smartphones, but this is Google’s flagship product. For ease of use and onscreen navigation, the Nexus One does not even come close to the iPhone.

2. Lack of Dedicated Carrier Support: Since Google has chosen to sell its phone directly, end users have to rely on Google for support because their carriers know little to nothing about the Nexus One at the moment. In the past few days, Google has been bombarded with complaints that the company is answering by e-mail, which could take several days! Contacting HTC or T-Mobile whirls customers into a cyclone of confusion in which they are told to ask for help from the “other” company –HTC refers users to T-Mobile, which in turn transfers them to Google.

3. Same Old 512Mb: still limited by the low 512 megs of ROM and RAM, this smartphone could have been more “future-proof.”

4. Plastic, Low-Key Design: for its price, one could expect an aluminum or other metallic body. While some will like the Nexus One’s nondescript look, I find it rather drab, even moreso than older Palms. I would be surprised if a great majority of people do not prefer other HTC designs over Google’s.

5. Above Average Connectivity: right now, T-Mobile is just not quite up there with Verizon.

6. Sound Quality: this negative would be much higher on the list if the sound quality were awful, but calls are reasonably clear, and the speakers are acceptable, although they are nowhere near the best. The music player is also weak.

7. On-Screen Keyboard: slightly improved over previous Android versions, but the lack of a dedicated keypad will not convert hardened Blackberry loyalists or Android users who have phones with physical keyboards (Droid, LG Eve).

8. Unlocked Price: currently, only T-Mobile offers the Nexus One with a contract, so there are no other carriers unless buyers are willing to spend $529.99.

9. No Instant Gratification: since this phone must be ordered online, impatient guys like me cannot experience the pleasure of just going to a brick and mortar store to pick up the Nexus One.

10. Useless Trackball?: a trackball on a touchscreen without a keypad? Hmmm…