Best Android out there

Basically, if you can live without a keyboard, this is the best android out there. 2.1 OS with the HTC Sense UI. It is an experience that I would call good.

If you used the Motorolla Droid (Milestone) you have an idea of what you get here. Really slick interface, lots of fun apps, integrated navigation, the list is endless.

Specs:
-a 1GHZ processor, I think it is downclocked to around 700 MHZ but there is no slowing or wait time like you get from the Hero.
- built in 8 GB flash storage. Also ships with a 2GB card. Annoying that you can't install apps onto this 8GB space, but it works fine for videos and music.
- half a gig of ROM and RAM. All you really need for speed and applications.
-800x480 AMOLED capacitive touch screen 3.7". This comes out as twice the resolution of the iPhone. Same screen as the Motorola one and same resolution as the EVO coming to sprint in a bit.
-8 Mpx camera with 480p video recording, dual flash. Better than many cameras out there, minus the optical zoom.
-Video out via an HDMI propriatary connector.

The OS itself is amazing. Last night I installed my SNES emulator and was rocking some old games. Deposited a check to my bank using the camera scan function (this depends on your bank). Scanned a barcode on a store and did a price comparison, then had a map drawn to the best place close by. Took a picture of a book cover and found it online. Really amazing stuff. With open development, you get great apps that are not pulled just because any company doesn't like the competiton (i.e. Google Voice on the iPhone). The store may be lacking right now, but I found everything I wanted. Tethering applications, apps to track hiking progress, fist bump for some crazy reason, all of it great.

HTC did some nice stuff here with the UI, the addition of some on screen buttons to turn bluetooth and WiFi on and off rather than scrolling through menus. That lovely weather and clock on the main page, and 7 home screens (if I recall the Droid only had 3 or 4). I also noticed that the built in browser supports pinch zoon unlike the Motorola one. No need for Dolphin browser for me now.

Engadget had an amazing review on this, and I agree with their thoughts for the most part. This is the best android OS phone on the market today. It is so good that Google has decided not to release the Nexus one to Verizon. If you can live without a keyboard (I havent decided on that yet) then this is the phone for you.

I give 4 of 5 for the hardrive flash install issue and some other strangeness. Having to rip the phone in half to get to me SD card is scary. Seroiusly, you don't slide the back plate off, you rip the phone in half. I didn't like this and I hope not to do it often. No landscape keyboard in some places is annoying. Messaging and internet stuff you get it, but entering contacts was a chore with the upright keys. I see great things for this phone, need to check out the video out function, but this looks like the big open source phone that I have been waiting for.