New Nexus One is still struggling to muster a fraction of the sales of not just the iPhone but the Motorola Droid. Research from the mobile analytic group estimates that about 80,000 of the HTC-made Android phones have sold since going on sale in early January. The rate is essentially flat compared to the 20,000 sold on launch and suggests steady interest but no acceleration.
Flurry by contrast estimates that about 525,000 Droids sold through Verizon in a similar timeframe late last year. Apple has never said how many of the original 2007 iPhone it sold in the first month, but it recorded 1 million sales in about 76 days; about a quarter of these were sold during the launch weekend.
The analysts don’t speculate as to the exact reasons for the slow uptake, though most attribute it simply to the limited reach of Google’s initial launch plan. It so far only lets customers buy the Nexus One through its website and currently only subsidizes the phone through T-Mobile, which has just a fraction of the customers of AT&T or Verizon. The Nexus One is available unlocked but costs $530 at this price and only supports T-Mobile’s native 3G bands, limiting its utility inside the US.
Google has also made virtually no effort to market the phone and has often only advertised it through a text link on its search page and through text-based ads.
Sales are likely to get a boost in the spring, when Nexus One models for Verizon, Vodafone and possibly AT&T should be ready.
