Nexus One Lives… As A Developer Phone

A few weeks ago, Google killed the Nexus One.  The phone wasn’t so much killed as the last shipment was completely sold out just a few hours after it was announced it would be the last chance to get the phone.  The phone never found strong sales success, but it was still disappointing to think that Google’s one official phone was gone.

Now it looks like the Nexus One is back.  The phone is now replacing the Google Ion (better known as the HTC Dream or myTouch 3G) as the phone for developers to buy.  If you’re a developer, you can buy the phone unlocked at $529.  It comes preloaded with Android 2.1, but Google promises that it would be given an update to 2.2 shortly after it’s turned on. {Engadget}

While the developer Nexus One is unlocked, it only has bands that are capable of working on the T-Mobile network.  It’s also unclear if the phone can be rooted to allow for custom ROMs, but that will surely be figured out by some developers.

HTC also recently announced that the Nexus One would be shipping with S-LCD (Super LCD) screens rather than the short-of-supply AMOLED screens.  Google is still listing the Nexus One as having the old screen, but perhaps sometime soon the phones will start to ship with the newer screens that have the added advantage of. better visibility in direct sunlight. {Gizmodo}