Google announce launch of Nexus Two

Google have announced their second foray into the mobile phone market, with the Nexus S. Despite Google CEO Eric Schmidt stating the Nexus One was "so successful, we didn't have to do a second one", the new smart phone is set to retail on 20th December in the UK. The Nexus One was exclusively available through a Google web store; this latest version however, should be available for purchase on the high street.

Although the Nexus S is Google branded, it is produced in conjunction with Samsung and it will join their existing Galaxy S group. It poses direct competition with other smart phones such as the BlackBerry Torch and the Nokia N8.

Nexus S is the first phone to utilise Gingerbread - the moniker given to the latest version of the Android operating system. This is the fifth major version of the software, from the firm purchased by the search giant in 2005.

New hardware featured on Nexus S will include NFC - Near Field Communications. This form of short range wireless communications technology is predominantly used in Japan at present. Similar to Bluetooth, but covering shorter distances, NFC allows the phone to scan other objects containing the NFC chip. This means the phone can potentially be used as a ticket on public transport, to pay for smaller items and also advertisements can be scanned, providing further product information. NFC is widely touted as the next big thing in mobile phone technology, with the next iPhone and other leading names rumoured to begin using it.

Another feature explored on the Nexus S is voice control. Text messages, alarm settings, and searches can be accessed with this feature; however initially voice control is only available on the US model, where Android searches are more widely used with voice accessibility.