By Peter Nowak, CBC News
The Nexus One has sold poorly in the United States, according to a mobile analytics firm. (Manu Fernandez/Associated Press)
Hot on the heels of poor sales estimates in the United States, Google is launching its Nexus One "super" phone in Canada.
The company announced that as of Tuesday, Canadians can order the Nexus One from its website. Google is bucking convention with the Nexus One by selling the phone unlocked, which means it can work on any compatible network, and for its full price of $529 US. The phone isn't locked to a specific provider and doesn't carry any term contract.
Phones in North America are typically sold locked so that they only work on a given provider's network, and usually at a discount in exchange for a multi-year contract. Google, however, is trying to spur competition with the Nexus One by giving consumers ownership over their phones and thereby the power to demand deals from their providers.
In a blog post, Google explained that Canadians can buy one of two versions of the Nexus One, each of which work on different 3G cellular frequencies. The version introduced in the United States in January works on Wind Mobile's network in Canada and on T-Mobile's U.S. network. The new version introduced on Tuesday works on AT&T's network in the United States and on Rogers in Canada.
A spokesperson for Google Canada could not say whether either version would work on Bell or Telus networks. She also could not say why the company chose to make two separate phones rather than one that works on both types of 3G frequencies.
"It's an ongoing project to extend the availability around the world," she said. "We'll continue to launch more phones that work on different networks and providers."
The Canadian announcement comes on the same day that U.S.-based mobile analytics firm Flurry declared the Nexus One a flop. The company estimated that Google had sold only 135,000 phones in its first 74 days, or the same length of time it took Apple to sell one million iPhones. Analysts did note, however, that the comparison was not necessarily fair, given Google's unusual business model for selling the Nexus One.
The company hyped the device as a "super phone" when it launched in January because of its powerful processing ability.
Google also announced that paid apps for phones using its Android operating system are now available in Canada.
