Verizon to carry Nexus One at retail?
updated 01:00 pm EST, Sat March 6, 2010
Verizon training on in-store Nexus One sales
Verizon today was rumored to be readying itself for a retail launch of the Nexus One. Carrier representatives have reportedly been in training not only to address Google's Android leader but to sell it in stores, which would be a first for the phone. With T-Mobile, Google has so far limited sales to its website and relegated the carrier to support.
The BGR contacts didn't have any of the launch details, such as a price or release date, although widespread claims have been made that it could ship March 23rd, at the start of the spring CTIA show.
A retail launch could be an admission of a failed initial launch strategy for the Nexus One. Google had tried the online-only strategy in an attempt to reinvent the US phone sales model, putting the importance more on the phone than on the carrier plan. The absence of retail sales or significant advertising, however, resulted in the phone moving just 80,000 units in one month, or a fraction of what retail rivals like the iPhone and Motorola Droid can manage.
