谷歌手机Nexus One遭遇了滑铁卢?

Google certainly deserves credit for being willing to try--and fail--at new things.

Data out Tuesday suggests Google's much-hyped smart phone, the Nexus One, is so far something of a flop. Sales for its first 74 days were only 135,000 units, compared with one million for Apple's iPhone and 1.05 million for Motorola's Droid at the same point in their life cycles, according to mobile analytics firm Flurry.

It may be premature to call the phone a failure. After all, the first iPhone hadn't really taken off at the 74-day mark, which was around the time Apple cut the price of the device. But Google has tied one hand behind its back in its sales approach by choosing to sell the Nexus One online only with little in the way of the traditional marketing employed by rivals. And until now it was only compatible with a limited number of carrier networks. That is changing--the phone can now be used on AT&T's 3G network and will shortly be available on Verizon Wireless--although Google has so far not broadened the range of sales outlets.

Of course, Google's mobile strategy is much broader than the phone, resting on the Android operating system it helped develop. And that shows every sign of success. Used by an array of phone manufacturers, Android had 7.5% of the smart phone operating-system market in the fourth quarter, Gartner estimates, compared with 16.1% for Apple's iPhone.

Still, the Nexus One demonstrates the quixotic nature of many Google investment initiatives. Google has said the phone raises the bar for quality of smart phones, presumably helping to speed the mobile market's development. It's a similar philosophy that prompted its recent decision to build a fiber network offering ultra-high speed Internet access.

There's no question that investing in new projects with an uncertain payoff goes with the tech-sector turf. But Google seems to take that approach one step further.

With cash and equivalents of $24.5 billion at Dec. 31, growing by a couple of billion dollars a quarter, Google can clearly afford the costs. And there's no sign these efforts are detracting from Google's core business of paid search advertising, whose growth prospects remain robust.

Investors seem to understand this. Despite being down nearly 9% since the end of last year, amid uncertainty about its continued presence in China, Google shares are still trading at 23 times 2010 forecast earnings per share. Apple, in contrast, is at roughly 19 times fiscal 2010 EPS. Both figures include stock option expenses.

If developing a new phone or a faster network helps expand the Internet, Google should benefit. But given Apple's record of success in new products and lower valuation, it still looks the juicier bet.