Google has experienced two serious setbacks in the marketing of its own Android phone Nexus One, respectively, in the United States and Britain.
In the UK, Google had to agree to give the mobile operator Vodafone exclusive rights to sell Nexus One. Google's original plan was to supplement the Vodafone-locked version with a Free subscription version that was sold through an online shop. When the Nexus One was presented in January this year, Google promised that they would avoid forcing the Nexus One-buyers in a long to bind to a specific mobile operator.
Google's official Nexus One blog further confirms that the 90 million customers of mobile operator Verizon - which apparently has no higher goal in life than to get a Google mobile - will not have access to a Nexus One. If they see Google's mobile platform Android, they must instead resort to HTC-mobile "Droid Incredible.
Verizon Wireless is owned jointly by Verizon Communications and Vodafone. This means that the two setbacks for the Nexus One must be seen in context: Google has stood up against the same operator coalition, and lost.
Wall Street Journal says Google has refused to explain why the talks with Verizon apparently has collapsed. They quoted an anonymous source to mean that Google itself that chose to refrain from producing a version of the Nexus One to use in the CDMA network to Verizon Wireless.
Reason should above all be that Nexus One has sold poorly. Google has refrained from presenting sales statistics, but has defended the effort by showing the long-term strategy. Google has said himself "satisfied" with the demand so far. According to Cnet analysts estimate an overall global sales of just under 500,000 units.
In the United States sold Nexus One without a subscription for $ 529. The only U.S. carrier that promote the phone with maturity, T-Mobile. With a term of two years costs $ 179 cell phone itself.
The conclusion so far looks to be that while Google's mobile platform Android is undoubtedly very successful, with several popular models from vendors such as HTC and Motorola, is Google's own Android variant Nexus One not particularly successful.
