Vodafone Nexus One hits UK April 30th

Vodafone UK have announced that, as of April 30th, the Google Nexus One will go on sale.  Available for preorder from today, the Vodafone Nexus One will be priced from free on a new £35 ($54) per month two-year agreement.  In the box will be a 4GB microSD card, while subscribers will also get 1GB of included 3G data in their contract.

Otherwise the specifications are the same as we've seen before, with a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, UMTS, WiFi and Bluetooth, along with Android and the recently extended Google Maps Navigation beta.  Currently the Nexus One is running Android 2.1, but Vodafone's spec sheet refers to the tri-color LED trackball being used; right now, the LED only shows white (unless you're running a hack), but multicolor support is tipped to be included in Android 2.2.  However, that version of the OS isn't expected to be released until Google I/O in mid-May 2010.

Interestingly, while the Nexus One is only available online in the US, Vodafone will be stocking the handset in-store in the UK.  The online preorder page says deliveries are expected from May 5th, in contrast to the press release's April 30th date; we're checking with the carrier to see which is accurate.

Update: Vodafone UK tell us that if you order a Nexus One today then you'll get it on April 30th; however with the UK Bank Holiday weekend approaching, they didn't want to over-promise on delivery, hence the extra wiggle-room with the May 5th estimate.Press Release:

GOOGLE NEXUS ONE LAUNCHES ON VODAFONE UK

· Nexus One™ available to Vodafone customers in the UK on April 30

· Pre-order from today on the UK's best network

· Great value – free on £35 price plan

· Available through Vodafone retail, online and telesales

From today, Vodafone UK customers can order the Nexus One, the new superphone from Google™, at vodafone.co.uk/nexusone.

Vodafone is the first European mobile operator to offer Nexus One. Customers who pre-order online will be the first to get a Nexus One for free on a £35 monthly price plan (24 month), on April 30. The Nexus One will also be available via Vodafone stores and telesales, with Vodafone providing direct support to customers with the superphone when they need it.

Nexus One will be available on a range of great value Vodafone price plans, on both 18 and 24 month contracts. Price plans start from £25 a month on a 24 month contract.

Vodafone UK customers with the Nexus One can use up to 1GB of mobile data as part of their price plan as well as take advantage of unlimited access to Wi-Fi in the home and free, publicly available services throughout the country. Customers using Wi-Fi can also use an additional 1GB of data at premium BT Openzone hotspots throughout the UK.

Nexus One features the latest in Google innovation including Google Maps™ Navigation (Beta), which offers satnav-style turn-by-turn driving directions with voice output and Street View. Also included are other favourites like Google Mail, YouTube and access to Android Market™ with more than 40,000 applications.

Google Maps Navigation is an Internet-connected GPS navigation system that provides turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps for Android™. Key features include Google Search and Search by voice to find your destination, the most recent maps, businesses and live traffic from Google Maps, and street and satellite views.

Vodafone UK customers now have a wide choice of Android phones, truly establishing Vodafone as the home of the Smartphone.

Nexus One Hardware Features

Display: 3.7" AMOLED 480x800 WVGA display

Thinness: 11.5mm; Weight: 130g

Processor/Speed: Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 3G QSD8250 chipset, delivering speeds up to 1GHz

Camera: 5 megapixel auto focus with flash and geo tagging

Onboard memory: 512MB Flash, 512MB RAM

Expandable memory: 4GB removable SD Card (expandable to 32GB)

Noise Suppression: Dynamic noise suppression from Audience, Inc.

Ports: 3.5mm stereo headphone jack with four contacts for inline voice and remote control

Battery: Removable 1400 mAh

Personalized laser engraving: Up to 50 characters on the back of the phone

Trackball: Tri-colour notification LED, alerts when new emails, chats, text messages arrive

-ends-

Nexus One, Google, Google Maps, Android Market and Android are trademarks of Google, Inc.