Google opens devices store for direct Nexus sales

Google has started selling Android phones itself again, two years after it abandoned its last attempt to sell handsets directly to the public.

Google has begun selling the Galaxy Nexus through the Google Play store. Image credit: Samsung

"We want to give you a place to purchase Nexus devices that work really well with your digital entertainment," Android chief Andy Rubin said in a blog post, adding that Google hopes to extend the devices store to other countries soon.

The Nexus devices Rubin mentioned are partly developer-focused 'pure' Android phones, Google-branded and bearing a stock version of the OS that has not been customised by manufacturers. The Samsung-made Galaxy Nexus is the current model in that line.

Google stopped selling Nexus phones directly in 2010. The experiment had lasted only five months, and had been Google's first experience dealing with consumer hardware sales itself. Rubin said on Tuesday that Google had "come a long way" since then.

"We've implemented new customer support services to improve the purchasing experience on Google Play," he said.

Google is rumoured to be launching an own-brand Google Android tablet later this year, so it is possible that the new Devices store may serve as a sales channel for that as well.