The Dawn of the ‘Super Phone’

The rumours were true after all, although there wasn’t much doubting it. Google’s Nexus One has officially launched (although it is only available in the U.S. at the moment). It ushers in a new dawn, which they have proclaimed as the ‘super phone’ that will shape our online and mobile habits in the future.

Many have prematurely heralded the Nexus One as a groundbreaking new phone but although it falls short of this mantle it does provide competition for Apple and their iPhone.

Some of the most impressive specifications that marginally set the Nexus One apart from the iPhone are its built-in Google maps, sat nav (a rather pricey app for iPhone users) and voice to text for messages, emails and tweets. You can find a full list of specifications here. However, don’t confuse this article with a review piece. The specs are important, especially for our inner geek, but it is what it means for the market that has caught our attention.

"The Nexus One is an important milestone in the smartphone market"

Google made a statement of intent for the future when they announced their decision to buy AdMob at the back end of last year. The Nexus One is the inevitable follow-up as Google seeks to kick-start a future of mobile ads and mobile presence.

However, amongst the furore surrounding Google’s launch at their Mountain View headquarters, Apple superseded them with a little old piece of business themselves.

Prior to the t-minus countdown on Nexus launch day, Apple announced their acquisition of Quattro Wireless. This is seen by many as a direct response to Google’s planned purchase of AdMob which, as Michael Arrington, founder of TechCrunch puts it, makes “the Nexus One an important milestone in the smartphone market.”

“2010 is the year of Mobile Advertising”

On Tuesday we spoke about how the imminent and expected launch of the Nexus One is another step towards a world of search and advertising that is handheld, instant and mobile.

A lot of emphasis will now be afforded to this market (if it wasn’t already before Google’s attention-grabbing announcement) and as these two industry giants draw their battle lines, commentators begin excitedly scribing about the potential of having a mobile presence and mobile ads.

This led Paran Johor, chief marketing officer of Jumptap to tell the BBC, "If there is any doubt that 2010 is the year of Mobile Advertising, Apple just cleared up any speculation."

This will intensify the need to supplement a SEO and/or SMO campaign with a mobile presence. The Nexus One is likely to provoke a response from many other manufacturers so the surge of smartphones into the market will only increase; thus, swelling the numbers of users accessing online content on their mobile.

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