Phones

Google Quietly Releases Nexus One for AT&T

Confirming early speculations, Google added an AT&T and Rogers Wireless (Canada) 3G version of the Nexus One to its the now ubiquitous google.com/phone Web site. For a hefty $530, you can ditch your old AT&T phone and pop your SIM card into a shiny new Nexus One. That's right, this version comes unsubsidized so you don't have to renew or sign up for a contract.

While it's nice to have more network options, I wish Google would release a true unlocked phone with dual-band support. The AT&T version will only work with AT&T's 3G network and the T-Mobile version will only work with T-Mobile's 3G network. So with either version, you're still locked to a network--even if you're not locked to a contract.

It's a step in the right direction, though, seeing as T-Mobile has the least amount of U.S. coverage out of the Big Four. If you live in say, Helena, Montana where T-Mobile coverage is non-existent, you can now take part in the Nexus One goodness on AT&T.

But will an AT&T version boost the phone's dismal sales? According to mobile analytics firm Flurry, Google has only sold 135,000 phones in its first 74 days of sale. For comparison, the first generation iPhone sold 1 million after 74 days while the Motorola Droid sold 1.05 million units (the Droid is the fastest selling Android phone to date).

The low numbers can be attributed to a variety of factors--from poor launch timing to online-only availability. And while the buzz building up to the Nexus One's launch was loud, the actual advertising campaign has been pretty quiet. In fact, Google made no official announcement about the availability of the Rogers and AT&T versions.

Will you buy a Nexus One now that there is an AT&T-compatible version? Or are you holding out for the Verizon/CDMA version? Or is the Nexus One already old news? Let us know in the comments below.