Nexus One finally gets a car dock

The Droid's had one for months now, and today Google's Nexus One gets its own car dock. When we consider how heavily the free Google Maps Navigation app played in establishing the Nexus One's popularity, we're surprised that it took this long for a car kit to be released. This isn't the first peek that we've taken at the dock, but it is the first official look. Plus, we've got specs!

Like the Droid's car mount, the Nexus One's dock features a suction cup mount to hold the handset in place while navigating. Users can attach the kit to their windshield or their dashboard using the included mounting disk. When placed in the car dock, the Nexus One automatically launches the Android OS Car Home, a special car-centric interface that should be easier to use from behind the wheel.

Unlike the Droid's kit--which is basically just a plastic arm with a magnet in the proper place--the Nexus One car dock features its own built-in microphone, loudspeaker, and volume rocker. Presumably, this extra equipment makes the phone easier to hear in the noisy environment that is a moving car's cabin. A louder speaker needs its own amplification, so the Nexus One dock also ships with a 12-volt charger that charges the phone while powering the dock.

As one may expect, a more complicated dock is also a more expensive dock and the Nexus One's car dock currently retails for $55 in Google's online store. Considering that your average suction cup car kit runs about $30 without the benefit of a power cable or improved speaker/microphone, we don't think it's that bad of a deal.