Google Inc will stop selling its Nexus One smartphone through its online Web store and will work with partners to sell the device through retail outlets, Reuters quoted the company as saying today. The move represents a marked shift in Google's strategy, less than five months after the giant Internet company had announced ambitious plans to shake up the mobile phone industry by selling phones directly to consumers online, bypassing the wireless carriers whose stores traditionally sell mobile phones. "They clearly have retreated from the model of sort of revolutionizing the method in which we acquire our smartphones," said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis. In a post on its official blog, Google said the Web store it unveiled in January to sell the Nexus One had not lived up to expectations. "It's remained a niche channel for early adopters," Google Engineering Vice President Andy Rubin wrote in the blog post in reference to the Web store. "It's clear that many customers like a hands-on experience before buying a phone." Once Google's Nexus One smartphone becomes available at retail stores, Google said it will stop selling handsets via the Web store.
