Google issues statement on Nexus One sales, touts Android Market's 30,000 apps

Numbers released by Flurry Analytics yesterday suggested that Google's Nexus One had sold around 135,000 units in 74 days (the same amount of time it took the iPhone to hit a million) -- not a staggering number by any measure. Now, we don't really have any way to assess the accuracy of Flurry's data, but we spoke with Google's team about a few things, and here's what they had to say. For starters, Google wanted to assert the idea that selling lots of a single handset isn't the company's primary goal, an idea which makes sense considering how many handsets are currently available with Android. In our conversation, Google actually called out the sales figures for the Droid and seemed eager to make the point that their game is more of a war of attrition fought on a variety of fronts. Read their statement -- and lots more -- after the break...

We're pleased with our sales volumes and with how well the Nexus One has been received by our customers. The Nexus One is one of a fast growing number of Android handsets which have been brought to market through the open Android ecosystem. Our partners are shipping more than 60,000 Android handsets each day compared with 30,000 just three months ago.

The rep we spoke with also intimated that selling the Nexus One online is not their only plan, leading us to surmise that the handset could be made available in other ways, possibly heading to carrier shops (online or in-store, as we've heard rumblings about). Stating, "We will consider options for expanding distribution of Google's Android devices beyond the current online store if that will help us serve our Android users better." However you slice it, it seems that Flurry's numbers struck a nerve somewhere, so maybe they're close to accurate?

Adding to the 'Android's growing at an insane rate' line, Google's also doing some much-deserved bragging about its Android Market app count, stating:

There are about 30,000 apps available on Android Market, which is more than double the number of apps that were available just four months ago. Additionally, we've seen app purchases increase more than 3 times in that same four month period. So we're not only seeing more developers bringing apps to Android Market, but Android users are also purchasing more apps.

It is an impressive rate of growth to be sure, and when you couple all these factoids with the news yesterday that the Nexus One would be available for AT&T and Rogers 3G bands, it paints a powerful picture. Still, when you look at marketshare, it's clear that even though Android has been gaining some real momentum, Google has a tough battle to fight on a variety of fronts. Let's hope they can dodge the fragmentation bullet and litigation sideshows and keep this train moving.