SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Google Inc. said Monday that the company's flagship mobile device, the Nexus One, will not be available on the Verizon Wireless network, as had been anticipated.
In a posting on a company Web site, Google said that customers who had been waiting for the Nexus One on Verizon should instead pre-order a different model.
A Google spokesman declined to elaborate, saying only that the decision to not make the Nexus One available on Verizon "is a reflection of the amazing innovation happening across the open Android ecosystem," referring to Google's open-source, mobile operating system.
A Verizon spokeswoman said that "the decision to not sell the phone was theirs," referring to Google.
When Google unveiled the Nexus One in January, it said the phone would be available on Vodafone PLC overseas, and on Verizon in the United States in the spring. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone.
But while Google confirmed Monday that the Nexus One will be available on Vodafone's network in the United Kingdom later this month, no such plans exist for Verizon. Instead, Google suggested Verizon customers pre-order the Incredible, another Android-based phone from HTC Corp. , maker of the Nexus One.
Placement on Verizon -- which is the largest U.S. operator, boasting some 93 million subscribers -- was seen as a potential boon for the Nexus One. The device faces tough competition in a growing field of advanced cell phones, including Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone.
The iPhone is available exclusively in the United States on the network of Verizon rival AT&T Inc.
Unlike Apple, Google has sought to deploy its mobile technology in a number of different devices and for a variety of networks.
Google hasn't disclosed the number of Nexus One devices that it's sold to date. The company has sought to make it available on networks such as Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA, but also has tried to sell it directly via an online store.
Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin said the lack of a version of Nexus One specifically for Verizon is "a setback" for Google's efforts to promote the phone.
"It may be Verizon thought the Incredible was a better match for them than the Nexus One," Golvin said, adding that the Incredible could be a "unique, stand-alone product" for Verizon, whereas the Nexus One is already available from rival T-Mobile.
According to data published last month by Flurry Inc., Google sold only 135,000 Nexus One devices during its first 74 days of availability -- compared with 1 million iPhones sold over the same initial period*, and 1.05 million unit sales of the Droid device from Motorola Inc.
The Droid is also based on Google's Android software.
Shares of Google closed more than 2% lower, at $531.64.
