The Google Nexus One has been one of the biggest launches of 2010, thanks to the Google's name behind it.

Just a couple of months later and and the HTC's own branded Desire was launched, with almost exactly the same spec and look, but HTC's device comes with a couple of additions that Google decided to strip out of the device.

So, which wins?

Branding
Obviously, the Google branding is a major advantage for the Nexus One. There's been a whole lot of buzz about Google launching its first device, and we weren't disappointed when it was announced.

Many people new to the smartphone game don't actually realize that Android is Google's own developed OS, so the introduction of the Nexus One will surely correct this.

However, HTC has made quite a name for itself since Android as taken off, making it one, if not the, leading smartphone maker.

Screen
Both the Google Nexus One and HTC Desire feature the same crisp 3.7-inch, 480x800 pixel AMOLED capacitive touchscreen.

They're both massively responsive but the HTC Desire scrapes past and that's because it supports multitouch natively (ie, without a firmware update).

Although it's more a UI decision than a hardware or screen decision, we want to know why Google switched off the capability - besides, there's nothing quite like the pinch to zoom browsing functionality and the Expose-style helicopter view.

Body
Although the Google Nexus One and HTC Desire have almost identical insides, the design is slightly different.

To the naked eye, they're the same size,but the Nexus One shaves off 2mm from the width and 0.5mm of the depth.

The HTC Desire is squarer on the corners, with the home, menu, search and back keys joining the trackpad below the screen, making the screen look larger.

The Google Nexus One has its extra hardware buttons in a panel above the trackball.

< prev 1 2 next>