It seems like no matter how much we think we know, there's always something new to learn about the Nexus One. Even with the January 5th event so close, doesn't it feel like there'll be some big twist in the end to shake things up? The latest? Well, other than the Nexus One finally deciding to show up in some high quality pictures, it looks like the Nexus One can handle itself some 3D. The video after the jump showcases the Nexus One's 3D benchmark test using Qualcomm's Neocore.

Yeah, that was all kinds of impressive. Check out the video after the jump along with more high quality pictures of the Nexus One!

[via engadget]

Where's Android at during Week 3 of the Smartphone Round Robin? Over with our good friend Rene at the iPhone Blog! Rene took a hands-on look at the Motorola Droid and the HTC Hero and came away amazed at all those widgets and customization. The iPhone perspective is a great take on the Android platform because of its wide user base and pole position in the marketplace. Be sure to check out his video over at the iPhone Blog.

Rene is also asking for help in our Android Central Forums. There's some great conversation going on in there--in relation to Android, the iPhone and so much more--so be sure to check it out. And don't forget, every day you make a post in that thread this week you're entered to win a free Android smartphone from Android Central!

If you're a Droid User (or Nexus One user) eager to give Swype for Android, the purported nifty keyboard replacement, a try, there's a beta that you can download! The downloadable beta only works with WVGA handsets (hence Droid and Nexus One) so those with HTC Heroes and Droid Erises are a little out of luck for the time being. Reports are saying that Swype for Android is actually pretty sweet and works rather well, so go ahead and give yourself a try!

Here's how [via mobilecrunch]:

1. Download and install the Astro file manager from the Android Marketplace
2. Download this zip file
3. Unzip that file, which will give you a file called “[mfhs]Swype-SwypeReference-WVGA854-trial-release.0.35.3959.apk”
4. Copy the APK file to your handset’s SD card
5. On your Android handset, go to Settings > Applications > and check the box next to Unknown Sources
6. Use Astro to browse for the apk file on your SD card, install it.
7. Go to Settings > Language and Keyboard. Enable the Swype keyboard.
8. You should now be able to switch between the standard keyboard and the Swype keyboard by tapping-and-holding on any text input field.

What's that, you ask? The Nexus One, set to be announced by Google next week, has already been rooted? Don't be too surprised. It's an HTC device, after all, and there are enough of the in the wild that this was bound to happen. We'll let Paul from MoDaCo explain:

Superboot is a boot.img that when flashed, will root your device the first time you boot (installing su and the superuser APK). No need to flash the system partition, no need to use ADB, no messing with the contents of your data partition, no overwriting the shipped ROM on your device, just flash the boot image using the instructions below and you're done!

That's it. So all you need now is for the damn thing to actually become available, and then you have to scrape up the $530 (or $180 if you sign with T-Mo) to buy it. [MoDaCo via Redmond Pie] Thanks, Taimur!

Hey, everybody. If you haven't heard, I'll be braving the likes of Rene Ritchie, Chad Garrett and Keith Newman (aka Darth Pooh) tonight on The iPhone Blog's iPhone Live! podcast.

If you're unfamiliar, it's a live broadcast with video, a chat room, and skee-ball. I'll be there to hold up the Android end as we talk about the third annual Smartphone Round Robin, the Nexus One and the upcoming Android-Apple tablet wars.

Broadcast starts at 8 p.m. EST, 5 p.m. PST. Join us here!

It's turning into a big week for those of you with HTC Heroes on Cellular South. First comes word that you'll be getting a 2.1 upgrade. And now, your Hero has been rooted, opening up your devices to all sorts of trickery. XDA user ibegary did the deed, but you'll want to read through the entire thread before attempting anything yourself. (Thanks, 702DROID, for the tip!)

You just can't blink these days or you'll miss another Motorola Sholes Tablet sighting. Such is the case recently with the Moto XT701, the version of the Sholes Tablet destined for China. It briefly appeared on Moto's China site (at this URL) but has since been taken down. But Russian site GadgetFreaks managed some shots [translated page here] before the disappearance, and they clearly show the XT701. [via Unwired View]

We might have a couple of new Android phones on the way from Motorola, if a Barrons piece is correct. Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry says that Moto "may announce" a new Android set for AT&T next week at CES. It'll have an OLED screen and no physical keyboard. A second one may be announced for Verizon, he said.

Might these be two versions of the Opus One? Or something else? Only one way to find out. Time to pack for Vegas! [Barons via Gizmodo]

Rumor alert! Rumor alert! Looks like an Android user has ported Android 2.1 to the device nearest and dearest to our hearts, the T-Mobile G1. Now we don't doubt that the T-Mobile G1, easily the most customizable Android device available, can get the 2.1 update but our impatience just wants us to see it for real, for real. Video will do but downloadable form is even better.

Since we've already seen the T-Mobile G1 rock Android 2.0 on video, having Android 2.1 ported onto it isn't that much of a stretch. Word was the T-Mobile G1 was actually supposed to receive the official 2.x update but word is quite quiet around the Google/T-Mobile/Android side of things, guess they're all focused on bigger and better things..

[redmondpie via gizmodo]