> As Google and Apple continue to battle for the mobile marketplace, Google Nexus One may go down as a grand, failed experiment or one that ultimately helped Google learn something that will prove important in years to come,” the firm wrote.
via [appleinsider.com](http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/03/16/first_gen_iphone_droid_sold_8_times_better_than_nexus_one_debut.html)
Nexus One is clearly flopping. Any phone that comes out in 2010 needs to have a better opening weekend than the original iPhone, which came out in 2007. People barely knew what a smartphone was in 2007. The pool of potential buyers is far larger today.
So by releasing the Nexus One when they did, Google not only botched their only shot at at a huge “Google Phone” debut, but also effectively took all the air out of the Droid, which had been doing fairly well at launch, thanks to a multi-million dollar ad blitz and a holiday season release.
What are the chances that Verizon and Motorola are going to be enthusiastic about the next big Android phone that comes along?
I’ve noticed in AT&T’s new ads for the Backflip (their first Android phone), they don’t even mention Google, nor do they mention that it runs Android. Odd choice. Almost as odd as making Yahoo the default search engine on the Backflip.
Android clearly is in the middle of an identity crisis.
