While we’ve all pretty much assumed they would tout Android and reveal the Google-sold Nexus One phone, there’s always the possibility that Google will surprise us all.

Google’s Nexus phone was first “leaked” in December after they distributed them at a Google party (no gag order in effect). Naturally, the phone created a free social- and mainstream media frenzy in pretty much no time flat.

But employees were the only ones with sneak previews—until recently. Saturday, Engadget posted a video tour of the Nexus UI and a preliminary review—and the Nexus is not the iPhone killer:

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We talk and think a lot about mobile marketing. But frankly, only a small proportion of cell phone users have devices that are equipped for any substantial web interfacing. But that may soon change—Nielsen predicts that smartphones will make up the majority of the cell phone market in two years.

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I know it’s a conundrum you’ve just puzzled over for years. When will “the mobile” “arrive”? What will it take to get mobile payments off the ground in the US? A month ago, we looked at Read Write Web’s series on this subject, where they concluded that mobile payments wouldn’t take off until a site users know and trust implemented a secure system.

Facebook has already announced a mobile payments “solution” (all buzz words get scare quotes today) with Zong—but Amazon might beat them to the punch. Amazon, one of the (if not the) most popular online commerce sites, premieres its own Mobile Payments System today—and it’s not just for their site.

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