Sony Ericsson refused to develop Googles Nexus One handset

By Emma Barnett, Technology and Digital Media Correspondent Published: 12:28PM GMT 19 Feb 2010

Earlier this month Google announced that its Nexus One mobile phone handset would be adding multi-touch capabilities. Photo: Reuters

In an interview with Swedish publication, Sydsvenskan, Nordberg revealed that when Google was developing the Nexus One it had asked Sony Ericsson if it would produce it, however the company turned down the offer because it only wants to produce phones under its own brand and "will not be subcontracted to others".

Google then approached HTC, which went on to develop the companys fiRst mobile handset.

G1 Google phone security flaw found Five things the Google phone will need to see off the iPhone Googles mobile Android phone to launch in New York Google announces new Android 2.0 features Vodafone Magic: Google finds its Magic touch at last

In the interview, which was carried out at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nordberg stood by his decision, despite the huge amounts of publicity HTC has received since the partnership was announced.

He said that although the alliance would have been an alternative way to access the "important US market" the company would rather do so via their own efforts, as opposed to off the back of another companys phone.

Sales of the Nexus One in the first month, since its launch at the beginning of January, have been slow, according to a recent analyst report. Mobile marketing analysts at Flurry estimated that 80,000 handsets were sold within the first four weeks which they then compared to the first months sales of the iPhone in mid-2007 which came in at approximately 600,000.

However, unlike the major promotional push Apple gave the iPhone, Googles Nexus One has relied largely on word of mouth marketing and is only sold online.

Google was unavailable for comment.