14 DAY TRIAL // Nexus One by HTC is the first mobile phone being sold directly by Google via its own web store, this is something that most of you might already know. Mobile phone users in the United States can purchase the handset from the Google's website either unlocked or with a contract agreement on T-Mobile's airwaves, paying $529 for it in the first case or $179 in the second. Or $279 in case they are already T-Mobile customers and want to upgrade to a Nexus One.
Being the first handset that landed on the market with Google's Android 2.1 platform on board should have made the Nexus One the hottest device on the market, yet it seems that sales are actually going pretty slow. According to a recent report from analytics group Flurry Inc., cited by the Wall Street Journal, Google managed to move only around 80,000 Nexus One units during the first month of availability, something that comes in line with a previous report of only 20,000 units sold in the first week.
Compared to the performance of other high-end mobile phones on the market, the sale figures fail to impress. Motorola’s DROID landed in November at Verizon Wireless with Android 2.0 on board and was sold in 525,000 units in its first month of availability, while Apple's first iPhone was sold in about 600,000 units in one month back in 2007.
However, the explanation seems to be a very simple one. The handset is available for purchase only via Google's web store, which means that one will have to place the order online to get the handset, and that it cannot be found in T-Mobile's stores. On top of that, the handset hasn't enjoyed a marketing campaign comparable with those seen by Motorola DROID or Apple's iPhone, and this might have also contributed to the slow performance it shows.
For what it's worth, this might change soon, as the phone has just become more appealing through the enabling of multi-touch capabilities on it via a recent software update. In addition, a series of accessories for it are also being prepared it seems, and their arrival might increase as well its appeal to users. Google has made available recently two videos showing the birth of Nexus One, and some of those accessories are also present in one of them.
Three more videos should be published soon, and we might learn about additional accessories or features of the phone from them, so stay tuned for more.