Last week was a big week for tech geeks - The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was taking place in Las Vegas.  It’s THE technology showcase of the year.

It featured all the things I talked about in the last week, including 3D TVs finally going on sale, plus Microsoft’s Project Natal.

But the biggest announcement that created the most buzz around the world actually happened just before CES.  It was Google’s big announcement that they have officially entered the cell-phone sales game.  The Nexus One - Google’s first phone - runs on the Android operating system, and it’s basically going to be the iPhone’s biggest rival.  It looks like a great phone.  It’s supposed to be very fast, easy to navigate, and has some great features..

The first is the camera.  Do you remember when having a camera on your phone was revolutionary?  Now, of course, NOT having a camera on your handset is basically the one sign that you truly have an ancient phone.  They’re staples now.  That was one of my complaints about the original iPhone - it did not have any video capabilities.  And the most recent version still only has a three megapixel camera.  The Nexus One, on the other hand, has a five megapixel camera, giving you far better quality photos.  And if your hand isn’t completely still when you’re taking the photo, you will still get a clear picture - something that isn’t always the case with the iPhone.

As well, the Nexus One has a very cool dictation feature.  Many people still struggle with text messaging, because it takes them too long to enter the words.  So for them, this dictation feature will be especially handy.  You can simply talk into the phone, and a program will automatically type your words into a text message for you.  This is still relatively-new technology, so I’m still quite impressed to hear reviews say it’s about 90 percent accurate for the English language.

Another plus with the Nexus One is you will be able to buy it direct from Google, and that means the phone will be unlocked - meaning it won’t be bound to any specific carrier.  That’s a major plus if you travel out of Canada or want to keep the phone, but switch cell phone companies.

And while it’s true that Nexus One is not available in Canada just yet, WIND mobile - that new cell phone company I told you about last month - say they’re currently in talks with Google to offer it to their customers once they set up shop.  So, I’ll wait patiently with my fingers crossed.