It's Official: There Won't Be a Google Nexus Two

Early this year, Google introduced the Nexus One, a cutting-edge smartphone sold directly to the public. Google head Eric Schmidt says it accomplished its goal with this model and there's no need for a follow-up.

This company's chairman and CEO said in an interview:

“The idea a year and a half ago was to do the Nexus One to try to move the phone platform hardware business forward. It clearly did. It was so successful, we didn't have to do a second one."

The Nexus One was the first model released with Android OS 2.1, and recently became the first to get an upgrade to Android OS 2.2.

Some had hoped it would be followed up with a Nexus Two with a sliding keyboard.

Different Interpretations
Schmidt says its original smartphone was so successful that there's no need for a Nexus Two, but many people would not agree with his assertion.

Google tried an experiment with the Nexus One, only making it available on its website. The vast majority of phones sold in the U.S. are sold through wireless carriers, and Google's direct-sales method wasn't well received. The company has never revealed how many units of this Android OS-based device it sold, but it was certainly a small number compared to sales of competitors like the Apple iPhone or the Motorola Droid.

And though the Nexus One was a high-end model, it wasn't more advanced that a number of other smartphones on the market, and it quickly fell behind models like the HTC EVO 4G.

T-Mobile was the only U.S. carrier to truly embrace the Nexus One. There is also a version for AT&T, but it is being sold without this carrier's cooperation or approval. Google dropped plans to release versions for Verizon and Sprint after these companies started offering models that have similar or better feature sets.

In May, Google announced that it is giving up using its web site to sell its smartphone directly to the public. Instead, the company is going to use its site to showcase all the smartphones running the Android OS. At the time, Andy Rubin, the head of the Android OS development team, said:

"While the global adoption of the Android platform has exceeded our expectations, the web store has not. It’s remained a niche channel for early adopters."

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