Google Pulls Back On Plans For Phone

Google backed away from a plan to make its Nexus One smartphone available on Verizon Wireless, the largest mobile carrier in the U.S., a setback to the Internet giant's effort to reshape the cellphone market.

The company Monday updated its Web site to tell Verizon customers waiting for the device that they should instead buy another smartphone running Google's software. Google previously indicated the Nexus One, which the company designed and sells directly to consumers, would be available for Verizon's customers in the spring. A Google spokesman declined to comment on why discussions with Verizon fell apart. After lackluster sales, it was Google that decided to pull the plug on a version of the phone that would have worked on Verizon's network.