Nexus One 1st week sales may be poor

An estimate by analysts at Flurry suggests that Google may have sold just 20,000 Nexus One phones in the week since the Android device became available. Early buzz for the phone isn't believed to have translated to corresponding demand and may have led to it selling a tenth the Droid's numbers and an even smaller fraction of the over 1 million iPhone 3GS units sold during a mid-June launch.

The small numbers are attributed largely to Google's business model, which leaves all sales on its hands and gives the $530 unlocked model equal treatment alongside the $180 T-Mobile version. Without a retail presence, Google also doesn't have the immediate purchasing and exposure of either Motorola's Android offering, the iPhone or most other handsets.

3G support limited to T-Mobile, which is only the fourth-largest US carrier, likewise reduces the appeal of the phone to other unlocked providers. Google has said it plans to offer both a CDMA version for Verizon in the spring and a Euro-friendly Vodafone model at the same time.

Google hasn't set ambitious targets for Nexus One sales by themselves but does hope to foster a new business model that reduces the dependency on the carrier and the preference for locked phones.

By Electronista Staff