Why the Nexus One Is Sucking Wind

Stacey Higginbotham writes an interesting post in Gigaom about the growing clash between Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone. It has gotten particularly nasty as Apple filed a patent infringement suit against HTC (the maker of Google’s NexusOne phone). But what Higginbotham’s post is missing is that Google is trying to turn the cell phone market on its ear. They want consumers to buy the phone they want and then find a carrier. They have a powerful array of interests aligned against them – just look at the contrast between the Verizon (and Motorola) supported Droid which outsold the iPhone in the first 74 days, and the lackluster sales of the NexusOne with no carrier.