Google to stop selling Nexus One smartphone directly to consumers

Google has just announced the company would no longer sell its flagship Nexus One Android powered smartphone directly to consumers.

The company said in a statement found on the product website that it has received the final batch of shipments from its manufacturing partner, Taiwanese-based High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC), and that it would not be selling additional units after the final inventory is depleted.

 However, the Nexus One will still be available from partners, including Vodafone in Europe, and Korea, including in other already announced regions.

Google said it would continue to provide product support for the device.

This was the company’s first attempt at selling a smartphone directly to consumers, unlocked and ready to be used on any supported carrier without restrictions.

Demand for the Nexus One remained marginal, selling about 100,000 units (estimated) in the first month.

Those sales figures compare to about 3-million units sold of the iPhone 4 in less than a month since its debut.

It appears the no-contract price Google was offering directly proved too expensive for the average consumer.

Additionally, the company’s marketing expenditures were marginal, compared to budgets for other Android powered devices.

Despite the marginal sales of the Nexus One, Google’s Android operating system is gaining record market share, catching up to the iPhone and the BlackBerry very quickly.

The Android operating system is open source, and can be used by almost any device maker to power their devices.

Recently, there has been an influx of highly powerful Android powered devices to hit the market, including the Samsung Galaxy S.

In the coming months, many additional Android powered devices are expected to hit the market, including from top phone makers including Motorola.

Nokia recently officially debunked rumors that it would develop an Android powered device, saying the company has no plans to do this, instead opting to use its now opened source operating system, Symbian.