Sony Ericsson rejected Google’s request to make Nexus One

Google would like you believe that the Nexus One was entirely their creation – the ultimate fruit of their Android loins – and ignore the fact that the Android superphone was developed and manufactured with a good deal of help from HTC. But, things could have gone differently if Sony Ericsson had accepted Google’s initial request to build the Nexus One. According to statements made by a Sony Ericsson exec, Google first approached Sony Ericsson to stamp out the metal and plastic bits to create the Nexus One. Sony Ericsson’s answer? Nope, not interested.

A new report from the Swedish publication Sydsvenskan has Sony Ericsson CEO Bert Nordberg confirming that his company was initially asked by Google to build the first Google-branded Android phone for the Mountain View, CA.-based search engine giant. Sony Ericsson turned them down. Nordberg apparently wasn’t willing to become just another sub-contractor for Google, preferring instead to focus on creating Android devices that push the Sony Ericsson brand – the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, for example.

The Nexus One hasn’t been selling all that well since it launched earlier this year, but that doesn’t mean the partnership between Google and HTC hasn’t been a beneficial one. HTC has been getting a lot of positive press for its involvement in the Nexus One, and probably doesn’t mind playing the sub-contractor fiddle every now and again (HTC started off making smartphones for other companies, after all). So, the question is – would Sony Ericsson have been wise to ride Google’s coat-tails all the way to the bank?

Find the original Swedish article (translated) here.

[Via: Engadget]