Google Nexus One For Sprint Coming Soon, Carrier Says
Sprint didn't confirm exact availability or pricing, but did confirm that Nexus One support from Sprint was coming soon.
"Nexus One is a powerful device that belongs on a powerful network. This is another step in our continued partnership of innovation with Google," said Fared Adib, Sprint vice president for product development, in a statement.
As Adib noted in the statement, Sprint already offers two Google Android-based devices, including the Samsung Moment and HTC Hero. The Nexus One, manufactured by HTC but branded as a Google smartphone, would become Sprint's most advanced Android model, running version 2.1 of Google's Android mobile OS and other features, such as integrated Google applications and access to the Android market, standard to other carrier versions of Nexus One.
Google launched Nexus One in early January, offering an unlocked version of the phone for $529 and a version through T-Mobile for $179. At the time, Google promised that more carriers would be added to Nexus One in the coming months, including Verizon.
Earlier this week, Google confirmed it had released an unlocked version of the Nexus One that is compatible with the 3G networks of AT&T and Canada-based Rogers Wireless. That version costs $529 like Google's original unlocked Nexus One.
Sprint didn't confirm pricing for its carried version of the Nexus One, but in the statement, Adib said Sprint plans to "keep pricing simple" and offer Sprint plans like Everything Data through the phone, suggesting it will offer a Nexus One in the lower, subsidized pricing range like T-Mobile has.
Sprint will be another key ally in Google's move to better compete with Apple, whose flagship iPhone still runs exclusively on AT&T in the United States. Google could use the help, too; while the growth of its Android platform and Android Marketplace for apps has been steady, sales of individual Nexus One phones -- at least compared to the initial launches of the iPhone and Motorola's Droid -- have been anemic.
Many of the Google Android-based phones helping Google's Android market expand, including the Sprint-carried HTC hero, were part of ChannelWeb's list of The 10 Coolest Smartphones of 2009. Check them out here, and leave a comment with your thoughts on this year's crop.