The Google Nexus One has been hugely marketed in the last few months as an iPhone beater, offering a wide range of features, it certainly has the ability to do just that. But the handset, built by HTC and supplied to the consumer with Google branding, must turn out to be more than the sum of its parts in order to have a chance against the massively popular iPhone.

The Google Nexus One comes with an LCD display that is 3.7 inches diagonally, a proximity sensor for the auto shut down feature, an accelerometer and the multi-touch support, though the latter requires an update of the operating system. Along with 512 megabytes of ROM (Read-only memory) for the operating system to work on, the Google Nexus One also comes with 512 megabytes of RAM and a 4 gigabyte SD card, which is expandable up to 32 gigabytes. As expected, it also comes with Bluetooth, GPS, 3G and WiFi support.

The Nexus One has a faster processor than nearly any other phone available on the market, which means it is incredibly responsive. Plus it runs Android 2.1, the newest version of Google’s mobile phone operating system. Because this is Google’s first real phone, it is also probable that the Google Nexus One will be first in line for new over-the-air updates and patches to the Android operating system and Google’s mobile applications, including Google Maps and Google Calendar. Soon after its release, Google made available updates for the operating system, which made the Nexus One, one of the first Android-powered handsets to support multi-touch support such as pinch-to-zoom.

Despite a flurry of well-publicised problems with Google’s customer support and some keypad malfunctions, the Google Nexus One is actually a great Smartphone, easily a match for its rivals. Everyone likes to deliberate the next ‘iPhone beater’ – but in reality, the mobiles with an Android operating system are at least content with second place, beating competing manufacturers like Palm, Windows Mobile, Nokia and also RIM’s BlackBerry. The new Google Nexus One is a step in the right direction for Smartphones and a handset being branded by such a large online brand means that support for internet use / data transfer, whether it be by GPRS, WiFi or any other medium is paramount.

Overall, the Google Nexus One is a phone that brings the internet giant in direct competition with Apple and their iPhone. Agreed, the iPhone can do some things much better than the Nexus One, but the Nexus One also has a few tricks up its sleeve. If you decide on the Google Nexus One you certainly will not be disappointed, and can at least say that you did not follow the masses!

A lot of smartphones on the market are tailored towards people that are technologically minded, and the manufacturers of them seem to assume that everyone who wants a smartphone will automatically know how to use one. This is often not the case though, and there are many people who want an easy to use smartphone – a smooth introduction to the world of smartphones if you like. That is just what the LG Optimus GT540 provides. It has most of the features that you would expect a smartphone to have, but it does not overwhelm you with them.

Powering the LG Optimus GT540 is a Qualcomm MSM7227 processor that runs at 600MHz, and whilst internal storage is limited to 130MB, the use of an external MicroSD card (up to 32GB) is possible. The LG Optimus GT540 runs off a powerful lithium ion battery, meaning a possible maximum stand-by time of up to 500 hours. With its touch screen capabilities, using the phone really could not be any easier. The home screen features the customizable ability to split the screen (numerous times), depending on what you want to do, and various applications and widgets are just a touch away.

Along with the 3 megapixel camera comes the capability to take and edit movies with the on-board software. The 420×320 pixel display means that viewing pictures and videos and editing them is simple and easy. A flash and auto focus feature combined creates pictures that are clear and crisp, whilst the facility to record and playback videos in DivX and Xvid format, and edit those videos in length and color, plus the capability to add text and music, means that the LG Optimus GT540 is well suited to people wanting more than just a point and click camera phone. Face recognition, geo-tagging and action detection are also incorporated into the camera software.

As the LG Optimus GT540 runs off the much celebrated Google Android operating system, you can quickly and easily access all of your Google accounts (Gmail, YouTube, etc.). Access to the main social networking sites has also been well worked in, and you can log into and manage your Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. accounts from one place – the social network manager. The look and feel of the user interface in general is very neat and clean. You will not find yourself getting lost or confused, as can easily happen on more advanced smartphones.

To sum up, the LG Optimus GT540 is an entry-level smartphone, designed with a specific market in mind. Though it does not make bold statements about its ability to compete with higher end products, it does offer new users to smartphone technology the chance to pick up and learn the basics before diving into the deep end with a more expensive offering from another manufacturer. Simply put, it is a perfect first step for first time users.