The HTC Google Nexus One arrived in January 2010 as the first phone to carry Google’s Nexus branding, built by HTC to showcase a clean, near-stock Android experience. With its 3.7-inch AMOLED display, a 1.0 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 chip, and a removable 1400 mAh battery, it was a flagship of its era and a milestone in the history of Android development phones.
More than a decade on, the Nexus One is best understood as a collector’s and reference device rather than a daily driver. This article breaks down what made it special, where it falls short by modern standards, and which kind of buyer still gains something from owning one at its now-modest price of about 120 EUR.
Full Specifications
Network
| Technology |
GSM / HSPA |
| 2G bands |
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| 3G bands |
HSDPA 900 / 1700 / 2100 |
|
HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 – for AT&T, Rogers Wireless |
| Speed |
HSPA 7.2/2 Mbps |
Launch
| Announced |
2010, January. Released 2010, January |
| Status |
Discontinued |
Body
| Dimensions |
119 x 59.8 x 11.5 mm (4.69 x 2.35 x 0.45 in) |
| Weight |
130 g (4.59 oz) |
| SIM |
Mini-SIM |
|
Trackball |
Display
| Type |
AMOLED |
| Size |
3.7 inches, 39.0 cm2 (~54.8% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution |
480 x 800 pixels, 5:3 ratio (~252 ppi density) |
Platform
| OS |
Android 2.1 (Eclair), upgradable to 2.3.6 (Gingerbread) |
| Chipset |
Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon S1 |
| CPU |
1.0 GHz Scorpion |
| GPU |
Adreno 200 |
Memory
| Card slot |
microSDHC (dedicated slot), 4 GB included |
| Internal |
512MB RAM, 512MB |
Main Camera
| Single |
5 MP, AF |
| Features |
LED flash |
| Video |
480p@24fps |
Selfie camera
Sound
| Loudspeaker |
Yes |
| 3.5mm jack |
Yes |
Comms
| WLAN |
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g |
| Bluetooth |
2.1, A2DP |
| Positioning |
GPS, A-GPS |
| Radio |
Factory locked by default, can be enabled |
| USB |
microUSB 2.0 |
Features
| Sensors |
Accelerometer, proximity, compass |
| Browser |
HTML |
|
Dedicated search key MP3/eAAC+/WAV player MP4/H.264 player Voice memo Predictive text input |
Battery
| Type |
Removable Li-Ion 1400 mAh battery |
| Stand-by |
Up to 290 h (2G) / Up to 250 h (3G) |
| Talk time |
Up to 10 hours (2G) / Up to 7 hours (3G) |
| Music play |
Up to 20 hours |
Misc
| Colors |
Brown (teflon coating) |
| SAR |
0.37 W/kg (head) 0.74 W/kg (body) |
| Price |
About 120 EUR |
Our Tests
| Camera |
Photo |
| Loudspeaker |
Voice 69dB / Noise 66dB / Ring 79dB |
| Audio quality |
Noise -86.1dB / Crosstalk -85.2dB |
Price and Availability
The HTC Google Nexus One offers a compelling combination of features and performance. While the base price is around €120, the actual cost may vary depending on your location and retailer. Below, you’ll find the approximate price of the HTC Google Nexus One converted into various currencies. Please note that these are estimates based on recent exchange rates as of June 18, 2026 and may not reflect the exact price you’ll find at a retailer.
- United States: $139
- Japan: ¥22,243
- United Kingdom: £104
- Australia: A$197
- Canada: C$195
- Taiwan: NT$4,393
- Denmark: kr896
- Saudi Arabia: ﷼520
- South Korea: ₩210,813
- Germany: €120
- Brazil: R$707
- Vietnam: ₫3.631.997
- Kenya: KSh 18,028
- India: ₹13,129
- Indonesia: Rp 2.463.872
- Nigeria: ₦188,135
- Pakistan: ₨38,557
- Philippines: ₱8,398
- Bangladesh: ৳১৭,০১৪
Why the Nexus One Still Matters
The Nexus One was Google’s statement device, designed to demonstrate Android the way Google intended it without heavy manufacturer skins. That pedigree is its biggest draw today. As one of the earliest pure-Google phones, it holds historical weight that newer mid-rangers simply cannot match, and at roughly 120 EUR it sits in the realm of nostalgia purchases and engineering curiosities rather than everyday competition.
Design and Build
Measuring 119 x 59.8 x 11.5 mm and weighing just 130 g, the Nexus One feels remarkably compact and light by today’s standards. The brown teflon-coated finish and the small trackball beneath the screen are signatures of the period, offering a tactile navigation method that has long since disappeared from smartphones. The Mini-SIM tray and the chunky 11.5 mm profile mark it firmly as a product of 2010, but the in-hand comfort remains genuinely pleasant.
Display Experience
The 3.7-inch AMOLED panel was a highlight at launch, delivering punchy colors and deep blacks that LCD rivals struggled to match. Its 480 x 800 resolution works out to around 252 ppi, which still looks reasonably crisp on such a small canvas. The 5:3 aspect ratio and roughly 54.8% screen-to-body ratio feel cramped next to modern edge-to-edge designs, yet for messaging, light browsing, and music the screen does its job without complaint.
Performance and Software
Under the hood sits the Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon S1 with a 1.0 GHz Scorpion CPU and Adreno 200 graphics, paired with 512 MB of RAM. Those figures were competitive in 2010 and helped the phone run Android 2.1 Eclair smoothly, with an official upgrade path to Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread. Today the hardware is only suited to basic tasks, but the device’s clean software and developer-friendly nature make it a favorite for tinkerers and custom ROM enthusiasts.
Camera Capabilities
A single 5 MP rear camera with autofocus and an LED flash handles photography, and it can record video at 480p and 24fps. There is no front-facing selfie camera, which reflects how video calling had not yet become mainstream. By modern measures the output is soft and limited, but for documentation and casual snapshots in good light it remains usable and authentic to its time.
Battery and Endurance
The removable 1400 mAh Li-Ion battery offers up to 10 hours of 2G talk time, up to 7 hours on 3G, and as much as 20 hours of music playback. Stand-by reaches up to 290 hours on 2G. The fact that the battery is user-replaceable is a real advantage for owners today, since a fresh cell can restore much of the original endurance and keep an aging device alive far longer than a sealed modern phone.
Connectivity and Extras
Connectivity covers GSM and HSPA with HSDPA speeds up to 7.2 Mbps, dual-band 3G options tuned for AT&T and Rogers Wireless, plus Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, GPS with A-GPS, and microUSB 2.0. There is a dedicated microSDHC slot with a 4 GB card included, a welcome touch given the limited internal storage. A 3.5mm headphone jack, accelerometer, proximity sensor, and compass round out a well-rounded feature set for the era, and an FM radio can be enabled even though it ships locked.
Who Should Buy It
This is not a phone for someone needing a primary device in today’s app-heavy world. Instead, the Nexus One appeals to collectors of Android history, retro-tech hobbyists, developers who want an early Nexus reference unit, and anyone curious about the trackball era of smartphones. Its low price, removable battery, and expandable storage make it an easy, low-risk pickup for those audiences.
Conclusion
The HTC Google Nexus One is a landmark device that defined the Nexus line and showcased Android at its purest. While its small AMOLED screen, single-core chip, and 5 MP camera place it firmly in the past, its compact build, removable battery, microSD support, and historical significance keep it desirable. We recommend it as a collector’s piece, a developer reference, or a nostalgic secondary device rather than a daily phone, and at about 120 EUR it delivers exactly that kind of value.
