Let’s say you’re a customer in the market for a new, shiny smartphone. You’ve never had one before, and you’re able to choose from whichever U.S. carrier you want. You’ve heard some news about a “Google Phone” and you’ve seen commercials for this thing called “Droid” and apparently that has something to do with Google as well. You’re intrigued, but also confused, and I feel your pain.

Baby Android’s First Steps

I love Google as a company because they offer a lot of services that work well which I use every day. Maps, Mail, Search, etc. The idea of them having their own phone is great in theory, but the execution over the last year or so has left a bit to be desired. Many people think that the new and fancy Nexus One is the first Google Phone. In actuality, Google’s first phone was the G1. Google and phone manufacturer HTC launched Android into the world with this phone 15 months ago and it was with a whimper instead of a bang. Ugly hardware matched with unfinished-feeling software just couldn’t cut it with most consumers. If you were on T-Mobile, chances are you were sticking with your Sidekick, or your Blackberry. If you weren’t on T-Mobile, there wasn’t much reason to switch.

Resurgence

Over the months, Android carried out a relatively quiet existence with a small group of low key phones. However, about three months ago, we started seeing some commercials about this “Droid” thing and it could apparently Do a bunch of things that another competing smartphone Doesn’t. I was intrigued, the masses were intrigued, and being the resident nerd among all my circles of friends, everyone was asking me what this Droid thing was. No one ever asked me anything about Google and it’s mobile operating system before that. A clear sign that Google hadn’t yet made an impact with their presence in the mobile marketplace. The Droid was shaping up to be the heavy-hitter that the search giant needed to shake things up, by partnering with the largest cell provider in the U.S. and with an ad-campaign taking direct jabs at the countries best-selling phone, the iPhone. If you were waiting for an Android phone that was worth your while, it seemed your waiting would now be over.

That is, unless you waited just two short months after the launch of the Droid when Google and HTC would announce and release their new flagship device, the Nexus One. Boasting a better processor, a bigger and newer version of the Android OS, the N1 had taken the title away from the short-lived champ that was the Droid as the best Android phone to have. If you had just signed into a two year contract with big VZW and were hoping to show off your big, bad Droid, you might be feeling a bit of a sting at this point.

webOS Makes it Simple

When you look to Android as a mobile platform, you no doubt have a lot of choice behind what kind of device you can have. Size, shape, keyboard or not, flavor of OS (as we mentioned previously, not all devices sport the latest -or same- software version). But if you want the cream of the crop, what phone do you turn to? The choice isn’t so clear.

With webOS, Palm have been gracious enough to bestow upon us the advantage of choice as well. Although they have made it a much easier task deciding which phone is right for you. The Pre is clearly the flagship, power device that fully realizes the power of webOS, and the Pixi is the choice for those that are looking for something less imposing, yet boasting the same great look and feel of the operating system. The Pre Plus and the Pixi Plus coming to Verizon in just a matter of days, are only incremental improvements for the hardware that Palm has already released into the world. Technology changes at a rapid pace, and for Palm to release the same old phones on a new carrier would be an obvious missed opportunity for them. Nonetheless you’re still getting the same version of the same great operating system on all four devices.

So if you’re out there with cash in hand and are looking for the best that Palm can offer with webOS, the choice is pretty clear. The same, unfortunately, can’t be said for Android, which will have you doing more research and making more compromises than you’re probably hoping to make. Choice is always good, but in this case too much of something good isn’t always.. erm.. good.

So with that said…lets put them head to head shall we?

“What other phone don’t, droid does”…that is the slogan for this beast, and it is mainly aimed at the iPhone, but lets see how it stacks up.

Basics

• Screen: 3.7″ WVGA, 854×480
• 16 GB memory + SD card expansion
• Wifi, 3G, USB
• 5 megapixel camera
• 550 Mhz processor
• 256 Megs of RAM
• Android 2.0

Now first thing to notice is that this is not the Droid Eris…The Droid Eris is a completely different Android phone that happened to come out right around the same time. That guy can’t hold the DROID’s charging cable…

Ok, now that we know what phone we are looking at, the next thing to notice is this thing is a beast. From a pure specs perspective it stacks up better than the Pre in several areas, but the Pre Plus starts to put it in its place. The Pre has a faster processor and the Plus has more RAM (and the same amount of memory). There is one place the Droid spanks the Pre…the screen. Seriously, the screen on that thing is ginormous.

If you watch people look at the Droid for the first time you hear a lot of…”man that is huge”, “is that a brick?”, “can this thing fit in your pocket?” The fact of the matter is, this phone is big and was designed for techies, geeks, and nerds. Why? Because while the Pre and the iPhone are all about slickness and style, the Droid is about pure functionality.

When it comes to pure functions, this thing delivers…just don’t ask it to give you sexy. The Droid is a great phone, but I still recommend the Pre. Here’s why.

First, as of right now the Droid has just about the newest version of Android out there (Nexus one is one digit higher). As I have mentioned before, there is absolutely no promise that this will remain so, and 2.2 (or Froyo) is right around the corner.

Second, apps. Seriously, did I just say apps? Am I trying to say that the 16,000 marketplace compares to the 1,200 of the App Catalog? It’s all about quality…not quantity. Have you seen Asphalt 5 (if not check out the review)? Android has nothing that can compare. Now to be fair, the Droid does have a separate GPU so it is possible for the beast to get games like that at some point…course that would be done through an upgrade to Android…which you probably have to wait 6 months for.

Its not just about the games though. The lastest version of webOS opened up the door for programmers to talk straight to the GPU and linux itself. This opens the door to way more than just games…just watch.

The Nexus One is the newest Google phone, and, like the Droid, it is a monster. Here are the specs:

• 1Ghz Qualcomm QSD 8250 “Snapdragon” processor
• 3.7″ 800×480 AMOLED display
• 5 Megapixel camera with LED Flash
• 512MB RAM, 4GB MicroSD storage
• Wifi, 3G, USB
• Android 2.1

If you just read that for the first time, you probably drooled a bit. That’s ok, it really is impressive. The screen is the same size as the Droid (the resolution is just a tiny bit lower), but it has a much faster processor and more RAM. It also has the latest and greatest Android version with it. Now, one can hope that since this is actually a phone sold by Google, that they will let you stay up to date with Android…time will tell.

Now how does the Pre stack up to this monster? Well, from a specs perspective, not all that great (the Plus hangs in there though). Aside from the same problems I mention with the Droid, the real kicker to this guy is support and price. When Google released this phone they wanted to change the way that phones were sold…no forced carrier lock. You could buy this phone without worrying about which network you were gonna be on. Well, that sounds noble, but here is the truth. First it is a GSM device so there goes Sprint and Verizon. Also, the way that the 3G tech works in the device it currently doesn’t work with AT&T at all. So that means, as of now, you can only get it to work right on T-Mobile. So you can get it without contract, but you can’t go anywhere with it. Now this will change, of course, but it is definitely something to keep in mind.

Now lets talk price. Lets say you like T-Mobile and you get the Nexus One all hooked up. Then, for some reason, 90 days later you decide you need to get out (probably cause the Pre 2 comes out!!!). With a normal phone you would just get nailed with a $200 early termination fee. With the Nexus One you also get a whopping $350 Equipment Recovery Fee. Huh? Say again? Basically Google charges you for dropping the phone if you get rid of it within 120 days. I don’t know what you call that, but I call that sleezy.

Finally…service. Google sells this phone,  not T-Mobile (or any other phone company). What does this mean? It means that if the phone goes berserk, you can’t just take it to the phone company’s store and get it looked at. You have to go through Google’s email only technical support. If you have ever done this, you know the kind of joy this really is (I do it for clients all the time and I cringe every single time).

Sure the Nexus One is a great phone, but is it worth the extra hassles that come with it?