The Google phone is finally heading to the UK and while we love Google and HTC’s work on this device, it is hard to say that the Nexus One will be a sales hit when it finally launches.
Mobile network operator Vodafone could help soften the blow on Google as they also offer the device to their customers but with the device exclusively available online, it is hard to see folks passing up the HTC Desire just to get the Nexus One –particularly when the two devices are quite similar.
And similar is a bit of an understatement, both devices come with a 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen, the latest Android operating system, a 5 mega pixel camera and of course, a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU. The only difference on the Desire is that the camera can shoot videos in 720p while the Nexus One has advanced voice recognition system that even enables speech to text.
The mid April launch also places the device precariously between two major launch dates. The HTC Desire, the HTC Legend and the XPERIA X10 are all expected to come out by the first two weeks of April while Apple’s budget killing iPad touch screen tablet is expected to be on shelves by the end of April.
Despite the high end hardware and amazing features of the Nexus One, the phone has not fared so well in terms of sales due to Google’s choice in distribution methods. In what some call a move to keep on good terms with their Android partners, Google has also painted itself into a corner by making their device available only online. Original estimates of a possible 3.5 million sales have been reduced to just a million units.
For more info about the UK launch of the Nexus One other details go to the Guardian UK.
Tags: Google-Nexus-One, HTC-Desire, HTC-Legend, Sony-Ericsson-XPERIA-X10