Google to sell its own “Nexus One” smartphone

Google looks set to follow the iPhone model and start distributing its own Android smartphone, dubbed the Nexus One.

Until now, Google has left the design and distribution of Android smartphones to partners such as HTC and Motorola. But the varying quality of handsets and lack of control over the end-user experience appears to have convinced Google to cut out the middleman.

The Wall Street Journal claims the company has already distributed prototype hardware to employees for testing. Indeed, photographs of the Nexus One have already begun appearing on Twitter.

The Nexus One is still being manufactured by HTC, and bears more than a passing resemblance to the HTC Touch Pro2, although reports claim that it’s noticeably slimmer.

Google will reportedly sell the Nexus One directly over the internet, rather than through mobile phone retailers and networks, which will likely mean that buyers will be forced to pay top dollar for the handset up front.

The search giant may have been stung into action amid claims that Android is failing to catch on in Europe. Although analysts IDC recently reported that Android sales were rising steadily in Europe, it also claimed that “consumers steer clear of the Google OS” because they don’t understand what Android is.