Google's Grand Mobile Phone Experiment Ends

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A bit of sobering news here. Google had announced some time ago that they would end selling Nexus Ones through their Google.com/phone website. Now, they’ve reported on their blog that they’ve received the last shipment from HTC and once the shipment is spoken for – the storefront is coming down. Unfortunately, Google’s grand experiment in unlocked direct mobile phone sales has failed.

Remember back in January that Google began selling the Nexus One, direct to customers. Either unlocked (for a price that was over $500) or with a T-Mobile US contract, though the phone cost was lightly subsidized. Some pundits (like myself) had partially hoped that this might spur a new trend of unlocked phones in the United States. Unlike Europe, the US has long been plagued by incompatible mobile bands, and the culture of using unlocked phones with other carrier’s SIM cards never caught on here.

Google soon offered Nexus Ones for T-Mobile and AT&T in the United States. They had promised Verizon and Sprint Nexus Ones, but those were soon shelved in favor of promoting the HTC EVO 4G and Droid Incredible. Again, Google has admitted that they’re rethinking the way they’ll sell phones. When the Nexus One was announced, they made it pretty clear that the phone would be a “pure” version of Android – with no OEM modifications. Wonder if that’s still important to Google.

For a while, the Nexus One was the best phone one  could get if you were on AT&T or T-Mobile. The upcoming Galaxy S models – Samsung Captivate on AT&T and Samsung Vibrant on T-Mobile – should replace the Nexus One in that regard – as they’ll offer a bigger screen and similar specs under the hood.

First the Droid, and now the Nexus One. The first generation of ‘good’ Android phones is slowly going away.