To get one directly from Google, just login to your Developer’s account and you can get one for $529.  It ships with Android 2.1 at the moment but will upgrade to 2.2 shortly after being powered on.

While the Nexus One may not have been a hit with consumers, the Android operating system itself sure is proving to be a star.  Google estimates 200,000 Android equipped smartphones are being sold each day and analysts say that at its current rate of growth Android will be on more devices than iOS (the iPhone operating system) by 2012.

Official Android Developer's Phone - Google Nexus One

While some would like to crown one phone as the king, it’s really tough to do when you consider that phones will be judged based not only on the quality of the phone, but also on the phone carrier who provides service.

So in this short post, I’ll cover what I think are the best phones for the four major carriers in the U.S.   Keep in mind this list will probably be totally out of date in 6 months so keep in mind the post date when you’re reading this article.

Best Phone on Verizon Wireless

While the Motorola Droid was the gold standard on Verizon Wireless, the next round of Droid phones has blown it out of the water.  The Droid X, in my opinion is the best Verizon phone and the Droid 2 is a good second choice and your best choice if you still want a dedicated hardware keyboard (honestly, you probably won’t use it much as the on screen keyboad is really cool especially since you can run Swype).  Android 2.2 will be coming to both soon (should ship standard on the Droid 2) which will make your phone faster and add a few cool new features.

AT&T

No surprise here – the winner by a long shot on AT&T is the iPhone 4.   It’s better in just about every way over it’s predecessor and if you can tolerate AT&T as your cell phone carrier, you’ll want to make the iPhone 4 your phone – don’t bother with the 3GS – it’s obsolete.   No Android phone on AT&T is worth your money at this point.

Best Phone On Sprint

In years past, picking Sprint as your carrier meant cheaper service than you’d get with AT&T or Verizon Wireless but their phone selection was inferior to that of their competition.  That’s no longer the case.   The HTC EVO 4G is one of the best smartphones on the market right now and boasts and absolutely enormous screen, and HD video camera, and screaming fast 1GHZ Snapdragon processor, you no longer have to get an inferior phone to get service with Sprint (and their $69.99 unlimited everything plan is a great deal though the EVO 4G does require an additional $10/month to be added to your plan).

Best Phone on T-Mobile

Even though the new Garminfone is kinda cool especially for GPS-centric people like me, the Google Nexus One still slaps its ass and calls it Sally.  It’s the phone Google built to feature it’s Android OS and it’s fast, and always the first phone to get the latest Android OS updates .

Conclusion

So there you have it – one website’s opinion on the best smartphones available for each carrier.  As usual, expect this list to change frequently as new phones are being released all the time.

Think I omitted a worthy contender to the throne?  Want to put in your two cents?  Post in the comments below and let me hear it.

A few weeks ago, I couldn’t find my Motorola Droid. I searched my apartment and car high and low and it was no where to be found.

I eventually remembered having it when I played volleyball the night before and drove across town to go see if they had it.  Fortunately, someone had found it and turned it in to the lost and found. It was probably a good place to lose my phone as most of the people there know each other and are generally pretty honest.

Then last week I was talking to my mom and she mentioned she misplaced her Droid (I convinced her over Christmas that if she was going to get a smartphone, the Droid was her best bet – she’s a former Verizon employee and would never touch anything AT&T so the iPhone was out as an option).

She wasn’t quite as fortunate as I was.  She set it on top of her car and drove off (don’t ask me why it was there in the first place).  She couldn’t figure out where it fell off and she eventually had to use her smartphone insurance, pay the $89 deductible and order a new Droid.

However, that got me to thinking there must be an app to track down and find a lost Android based phone.

As it turns out, there are several.

Probably the most popular is “Where’s My Droid.” I just installed it and tested it out myself and it’s pretty sweet if you’re forgetful and misplace your phone.

You can send a special code word via SMS to your cell phone and it will turn on the ringer even if it’s on vibrate or silent. I wish I’d have had that feature on my old Razr (the flip phone, not the new Droid Razr smartphone) – I always had the ringer off and managed to misplace that thing every couple weeks it seemed.

It also has a special code word you can text (you can pick and customize these words, by the way) your phone that will activate the GPS antenna and will text you back it’s location and a link so you can get directions to your phone via Google Maps.

There’s another fun app called Instamapper that also allows for remote activation where you can watch on a map where your phone is and if it’s moving. I have both installed.  (This one also allows for remote tracking without the phone user knowing it’s on – it’ll run quietly in the background once setup if you like.)  This app isn’t quite as user friendly and takes a little time to get setup, but works great once it’s up and running.

What If Already Lost Your Phone But Didn’t Install This App?

The app you install after you lose your Android phone.  

Since a lot of people don’t necessarily plan ahead and find this page after their phone has already been lost, I’m often asked what they can do if their cell phone is already gone.  In the past I’ve always had to tell them they’re out of luck.   However, now there’s a new option called Plan B.  It’s from the company Lookout Mobile and best of all, it’s a free app!  In order for this app to work, you’ll need access to your computer and your Google (gmail) account.  Since pretty much every Android phone needs a Google account to work properly, you probably already have that.

Plan B is the Android App that helps you find your phone after you lost it or it was stolen - even if the phone is already lost!

To use the app, you’ll need to use the web version of the Android Market – again, the app is called Plan B. Your phone needs to be running Android 2.0 or later but these days, that’s pretty much all of us.

Once you’ve installed the app remotely, you’ll get emails in your Gmail account telling you the approximate location of the phone.  While it isn’t accurate enough to tell you it’s in your couch cushion or that it’s actually sitting on your desk, it is accurate enough to let you know if you forgot it in the coffee shop or left it at home or in your car.

A special thanks to Clayton Hughes for bringing this app to my attention.

Of course, this all implies the phone is still turned on. If it’s powered off or the battery is dead, you’re SOL.

So what can you do if you’re phone’s battery is dead or the phone has been turned off or SIM card removed?

You can use an app like Wavesecure that will lock down your phone should it ever get stolen. It will contact a friend (who you can specify when you setup your account) if your phone is stolen and allows you to remotely lock down your phone so that it can’t be used until the unlock pin code is entered.

And it has one feature that makes this a killer app. Smartphones have access to a ton of your personal information (I’d much rather someone steal my wallet than phone – they can do less damage with my wallet) – that information is worth far more than the price of the phone.

However, with Wavesecure, you can remotely wipe the the data on your phone and memory card so that least your private personal data can stay safe even if your phone can’t be recovered.  (Just remember to do regular backups of your phone – MyBackup Pro is what I recommend – the 30 day trial is free and $2.99 after that, but well worth the small investment – I spent that much on coffee this morning.  You can also use Titanium Backup if you have your phone rooted.)

I also like to make it easy for people to get in touch with me so they can give my phone back to me.

While I know that high end smartphones like the Galaxy Nexus and HTC Vivid are certainly attractive to thieves, I give people the benefit of the doubt and just assume that I misplaced or dropped the phone and that someone found it and would be more than happy to give it back if they could get in touch with me.

One App that makes that simple is to install the “Contact Owner” app on your phone. It’s a very simple app that will display your name on the unlock screen of your phone, an alternate phone number and email address for anyone who finds your phone to contact.

I actually have my Google Voice number set as my contact number. Even when it forwards back to my cell phone, I can still see the call log and will get any text messages sent to that contact number without needing my phone to access them. Also, if they leave a voicemail, I can check it online – no phone required.

So there you have it, some apps to keep track of your phone if you’re as forgetful as I am.

Any apps that I missed?  Is there an app you feel I should have mentioned?  Did one of these apps help you find your lost phone?  - post in the comments and let me know.

Updated 1/9/12

So I got one of those fancy Droids a couple weeks ago and when you go from a Razr (the original one, not the slick new Droid Razr) to a Droid, everything is cool and fancy.  I honestly don’t know how a lot of the features that are “gee whiz” cool compare to other smartphones like the iPhone.  They’re all cool to me, but wow is the Facebook and Google Voice integration slick.

Google Maps Navigation Beta brings free turn by turn navigation to your Android powered device.

Anyway, instead of posting my thoughts about the phone side of things, I figured I’d post about the thing I am qualified to review – the GPS, specifically Google Maps Navigation Beta.

I’m on my fourth GPS device and have extensively researched others.  In fact, I decided to get the phone with its built in navigation instead of one of the new high end TomToms.

So I have fairly high standards for what I want in a GPS device, and I have to say that Google has managed to include cool features I would never have thought to ask for… unfortunately they also neglected to include some fairly important industry standard features.

I like it, I love it

As you’d probably expect, Google Navigation uses their Google Maps data for all the routes.  The maps are up to date (I hated buying updates to my old ones) and since it accesses their online database, they’re about as up to date as you can get.  Up to date maps doesn’t sound like a big deal until your GPS device tries to convice you to take an impassible snowmobile trail in the middle of nowhere Colorado – then you’ll appreciate having accurate maps.

The voice search is also awesome.  It knows where businesses are (even local ones, not just chains) and can find them with a simple search.  My car broke down a week ago and I was able to find a towing service close to me (I didn’t want to be stuck there any longer than I had to), and call them using the same device… and I was able to read reviews before I made any calls.

It can find landmarks, categories of businesses, schools, pretty much whatever you want.  And if you decide to type in the information, it’s not all that picky and can even figure out what you meant to spell if you spell something wrong (just like their search engine can).

It will also find places along your route.  For example, if you’re on a road trip and need to find a Starbucks, instead of Navigating you to the closest Starbucks, it’ll find one that’s along your route so you don’t need to take an extensive detour or turn around.

However, one thing it can’t do is navigate to someone in your contacts list even if their address is in your phone.  My guess is that feature is coming, but so far it doesn’t do that.  Sadly, even Siri can do this but Google Maps Navigation doesn’t just yet.

Google Street View is pretty cool especially as it can display a picture of the intersection and a picture of the business you’re navigating to.  However, I’d like to more advanced instructions for complicated interchanges.  For example, my last GPS would tell me to take and exit and which lane I needed to be in when necessary.  It isn’t necessary all that often where I live but let me tell you, it’s immensely helpful when it does come up.

You have the option to use Satellite view just like with Google Maps on your computer and you can even overlay the terrain if you’re out hiking.

And one feature I really like was the ability to navigate “nearest” whatever.  For example, you can tell Google Maps Navigation to “navigate to nearest movie theatre” using voice commands and it will.

Fail!

Night mode

While there are some excusable omissions, one that is just a complete brain fart is the lack of a night mode.  Honestly, I was expected that the phone would not only have a night mode, I figured it’d automatically kick in when the sun set based on its location – the phone has a lot of location aware features like that and I figured Google Maps Navigation would have that… it didn’t.

I learned this on a trip from Nebraska to Wisconsin.  Fortunately, I don’t need directions for the trip, so when it got dark and night mode didn’t kick in and I couldn’t find it in the menus, it wasn’t a problem for me just to turn the program off and finish the drive sans navigation.

But seriously, no night mode?  I’m assuming this oversight will be fixed in the near future, but as far as I’m concerned, the program should never have left alpha testing without that feature.

Update (Feb 2010) – Night mode exists now (came as part of Google Maps 4 app update) and yeah, it works like I expected it would – location aware and based on sunset and sunrise.   Glad to see they added it.

Speedometer

Another industry standard is how fast you’re going.  And TomTom and Garmin devices also happen to know the speed limits where you’re driving and can tell you when they change.  Google doesn’t even display how fast you’re going.  I know, I know, that’s what the speedometer on your car is for.  Well, I find the one on cars is frequently off by 1-3 mph.  On a long trip, a 3mph difference is half an hour I could have saved and the GPS speedometer is always extremely accurate.

Update (Jan 2012)

No, no built in speedometer yet.  But you can get one via a third party app called Ulysse Speedometer.  You can set it up so that it will startup whenever your phone is connected to the car dock and it will display your current speed in the status bar at the top.  It’s the perfect add-on for getting a speedometer on your Android phone while still being able to use Google Maps Navigation.  Oh, and it’s a free app so it’s a no brainer.

To set it up so it runs in the status bar, click the “menu” button, then click preferences.  Make sure the “Work in Background” box ix checked.  Then click “Background notifications” and make sure the “show current speed” box is checked.  Then scroll down and make sure the “start on car dock” box is checked.  Now anytime you put your phone in the car dock, this application will start right up and will display your current speed no matter what application you’re using.  For example, most of the time when I’m driving I don’t need navigation, but instead have my podcasting app up and running and I still have a speedometer on my phone.

Data Connection Required

Here’s another real head scratcher.  The need to have a data connection for navigation.  I can totally understand the need to have a data connection for things like Street View, Satellite View, and some of the more advanced features – it’d just be too much to store on the phones memory and updating would be a pain.  However, needing a data connection for even basic navigation is bad design.   Google needs to offer an option to download the maps to your phones memory card and to use those maps when data is lost.  GPS and navigation needs to work in the middle of nowhere.

Those are my biggest complaints.   But here’s why I’m still happy about getting Google Maps Navigation vs TomTom.  I know that Google will continue to update it and that it’s likely to be a true rival to TomTom and Garmin within a year and those complaints I have will likely be addressed soon.  If I had a Garmin or TomTom, I’d be waiting a lot longer and I’d probably have to pay for the upgrade.

Google Maps Navigation may not be quite ready to challenge the big boys for navigation supremacy just yet, but for the price (FREE), you could certainly do a lot worse.

Update (Nov 2010)  Google Maps Navigation now has an offline mode so that even if you lose data connectivity, you will still get navigation along your route.  It still requires an initial data connection as it needs to download a vector map of your route but once you’re on the road and moving, it won’t require a constant connection.

More cool features they’ve added over the years:

• Walking Navigation – You can get direction if you plan on walking to your destination.  It will also work if you plan on going via bike and will take bike paths in your city for navigation instead of streets.
• Transit Navigation – This is a cool feature!  If you need to use public transit (bus, subway) to get to your location, this feature will tell you where to get on and off and what route number to look for.  This is so helpful when I’m in a big city as just trying to reed all the transit routes makes my head spin.  (I grew up in a small town and am used to simply taking a car wherever I need to go).