Google to shutter Nexus One e-store

Google's Nexus One smartphone

Google will stop selling its Nexus One online because the Android phone's store hasn't caught on with potential buyers, the company said Friday.

When Google launched the phone in January, it expected the store to provide a "quick and easy" way for people to buy the Nexus One while bypassing the middleman. It hasn't quite worked out as planned.

"[The online store has] remained a niche channel for early adopters, but it's clear that many customers like a hands-on experience before buying a phone, and they also want a wide range of service plans to chose [sic] from," wrote Andy Rubin, an engineering vice president, in an official blog post.

Google will now start increasing the phone's availability in retail outlets through partnerships and, once retail availability reaches a certain level, Google will strip out the e-commerce capabilities from the store's Web site, which will then only offer information.

"We believe that the changes we're announcing today will help get more phones to more people quicker, which is good for the entire Android ecosystem: users, partners and also Google," Rubin wrote.

In addition to sagging sales, Google also struggled with providing timely support to buyers, many of whom complained loudly about poor responsiveness from the company to their queries and complaints.

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