Officially released a week ago for AT&T and Rogers subscribers, the unlocked and loaded release of Google's Nexus One ushers in a new distribution model for smartphones, one where the manufacturer (in this case, Google) sells unlocked phones directly from its website (google.com/phone) and supports the OS independently from the carriers.

Long available in the U.S. through T-mobile for US$179 on a two year contract, the stand alone Nexus One costs US$529.00. For Canadians, that equates to roughly C$550 with the fluctuating exchange rate, plus another $77.00 for import fees. The unit arrives two to three days via DHL, and then it's up to the user to put a SIM card in it.

While listed as compatible with AT&T and Canada's Rogers Wireless network, the Nexus One is expected to work with Sprint and Verizon wireless shortly, covering all four major US carriers. In Canada, the Nexus One turns out to be naturally and immediately compatible with Bell and Telus as well as Rogers, provided you enter the unlisted carrier's APN (Access Point Name) information.

For this review, a Telus SIM card was simply plopped into the Nexus One and it was up and running. Cake.

First up, the Nexus One's 3.7 AMOLED screen is outstanding. It is so bright and crisp that even at its lowest brightness settings (also the most energy efficient) the thing is effortlessly readable and reasonably vivid. Black is really black (as opposed to dark grey that often passes for "black"), though some of the colors seem a bit too saturated (reds tend to approach dark pink).

The screen, pleasingly resistant to smudges and fingerprints, also incorporates tactile feedback. It vibrates with every tap, which really helps with accuracy when typing or moving information around.

Speaking of typing, the Nexus One virtual keyboard is large and manageable. If you're not keen on typing on glass, Google's Voice Search and Voice Input feature, exclusive to the Android 2.1 OS, work quite well, especially with the navigation app... once you get over the fact that you're talking to your hand, that is.

Unfortunately, for all its bright and touchy-feely capaciousness, the Nexus One screen is also highly reflective. When you use it outdoors, it's barely readable - a high tech makeup mirror.

With a body of aluminum and rubberized plastic, the Nexus One feels soft and velvety, its shapeliness and texture akin to a polished stone, much like the Palm Pre and totally unlike the me-too glossy black casings of too many smartphones.

And while maybe a tad on the slippery side, it is thinner and lighter than the iPhone 3GS. In fact, it's one of the nicest smartphones ever held, a true tactile treat with no sharp edges and no unnecessary protrusions - though there is backlit LED trackball, a volume rocker and the 5 Megapixel camera breaking its otherwise svelte lines.

Internally, the Nexus One's runs Android 2.1, Google's latest and greatest OS, optimized to run on the speedy 1GHz Snapdragon processor. Loading apps, scrolling and screen refreshes are super fast.

In fact, even running data- and graphic-intensive apps like Google Maps or Google Earth, which can use GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G plus internal compass and accelerometers all at the same time, Nexus One can crunch and display results in a snap with no discernable lag. Nice.

Similarly, Nexus One can display 720p HD video, which is impressive by itself, more so because it does it really, really well (audio is merely passable, mind you).

The 5 Megapixel camera is one of the better ones you'll encounter on any smartphone. It can do stills and video decently enough, and includes settings for white balance, flash mode, color effect and focus mode. Users can use the Gallery application to post images online or share via MMS or email.

Battery life is surprisingly good, better than the recently tested Motorola Milestone, also an Android phone. On a full charge, the Nexus One got through two days of use with a lot of web surfing, Twitter, Facebook and email. Mind you, that was with the AMOLED screen turned all the way down to conserve power, though it still ran bright and clear, as mentioned.

As a phone (that's right, it's a phone, too), call quality on the Nexus One is excellent due in no small way to the unit's dual microphones that manage to isolate external noise while enhancing voice input, which also helps with the aforementioned Google voice applications.

Compared to an iPhone, you might miss the large variety of apps, music and video available through iTunes - not to mention the countless hardware accessories and peripherals readily available for Apple's iWunderkind. But Google does seem to have big plans for the Nexus One, as is evidenced by its new availability on all major carriers. There are a growing number of Android Apps, just not enough of a surplus to challenge iPhone for depth and variety, especially in the games department, where Apple has a substantial lead.

Still, the Google Nexus One is a fantastic smartphone. It's more like a handheld computer and really the best example of what a so-called "Google Phone" should be - provided you don't want a slide-out keyboard; the Verizon Droid / Motorola Milestone Android phones are still the best phone for that.

But with its off-the-wall specs, opulent screen and refined handling of the Android OS, the Google Nexus One is a powerful, versatile, innovative and seriously-competitive player in the smartphone space.