It doesn’t explicitly say that the Nexus One won’t hit Verizon, but that seems like a strong implication. Why move people towards a different handset if you still plan to offer one? Phandroid sent a request for comment, and Google was nice enough to respond.

We won’t be selling a Nexus One with Verizon, and this is a reflection of the amazing innovation happening across the open Android ecosystem. Verizon Wireless customers who want an Android phone with the power of the Nexus One can get the Droid Incredible by HTC, which can be pre-ordered now and which will be available in Verizon Wireless stores on Thursday, April 29th.

That is that, it appears. No Nexus One on Verizon, though we could still see a CDMA version on Sprint. At this point, though, how motivated will Google be to get the device to America’s third largest carrier, one that has been losing postpaid subscribers for about two years now?

Verizon customers might be pleased that they’ll get the Incredible in place of the Nexus One. As you can see in the following video, courtesy of Android Central, the multitouch support on the Incredible trumps that on the Nexus One and Motorola Droid.

As an Android Central commenter notes, the superior multitouch experience on the Incredible stems from superior hardware. To wit:

HTC is now using the Atmel mxt224 screen vs. the old Synaptics 2000. The Atmel is a known component of the upcoming HTC EVO 4G – I just didn’t think they’d implement it this soon. Looks like they have. It’s not merely a software enhancement on the Incredible over the N1; they are indeed using a new screen type. Very nice.

So not only do Nexus One owners have a dysfunctional radio, but they also have an inferior touch screen. That will not make for happy owners.

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I have been talking about this phone in anticipation from when I first started speaking at conferences in early 2009 on topics such as Android at SMX Advanced last year.

This pent up demand is accentuated with reported selling price of $1000 via Amazon for unlocked Sony Xperia X10s since this phone is not expected to be available in the United States until possibly the later half of 2010.

So I quickly opened the Sony X10a box labeled Sensuous Black which along with the phone itself had a smart setup in that the USB cable connects into a socket adapter, so you don’t need 2 separate wires, plus a quality pair of Sony earbuds that included an extender with the mic & button.

Thankfully the ear buds and connector are with the 3.5mm plug versus the USB connection.

Oddly the X10 had the USB connection with the peel off lid and the 3.5 headphone jack on the top of the phone instead of on the bottom (as well ditching the USB connection lid).

Strangely as well this is the first smartphone I have seen with the volume button on the right side when its facing you.

So I compared it to the other Android phones I had which are the G1 and the Google Ion (Google I/O version of the MyTouch 3G) with these differentiator bullet points

• The X10 is about the height of the G1 but half the depth
• The X10 is thinner than the Ion but noticeably heavier
• The X10 screen is massive and the size of the entire Google Ion
• The X10 screen with the SnapDragon processor is great for video
• The X10 screen also helps avoid fat fingering the onscreen keyboard
• The X10 8.1 MP camera is better than most digital cameras I have used
• Yes, the X10 was loaded with Android 1.6 & lacks multitouch
• Oddly what I really missed was not having the trackball on the X10
• The X10 boot time blew away both the G1 & Ion at under 30 seconds
• Both the Google Ion & G1 took about 2 minutes to cold boot

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The reasoning perhaps to why Android follows a similar usage path as the iPhone may be that it is now more mainstream thanks to the Verizon Droid advertising push last year and Google itself debuting the Nexus One.

Although it seems Google gives away more N1s for free at conferences than it sells.

Flurry released the January 2010 data today from its tracking of over 20,000 live applications with over 2 billion user sessions each month.

Both Android and the iPhone had eerily similar retained user percentages per month

The most interesting of the graphs in my opinion was the average session frequency per month.

While Android and the iPhone share the huge increase in social media use, the session totals are always in Android’s favor, perhaps due it being able to multitask and run several apps at once.

The conclusion Flurry provided is that mobile applications have reached a new stage of maturity, where apps perform similarly across platforms with their ultimate conclusion being that the content trumps the platform.

I think this is what principally Google wants to monetize as social interaction meets mobility and location with it providing an ideal direct target audience for advertisers.

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The initial Android phones from HTC & Samsung are decidedly lackluster but were great inroads of progress toward competing with and ultimately supplanting the iPhone.

Its not even a year ago as the HTC Dream G1 became the first Android enabled phone to be released publicly on October 22nd and now I have listed at least 50 Android phones expected in the near future.

I enjoyed the G1 when I first got it last year and then the next generation Google Ion that I got from Google IO, but I miss the keyboard and need more from the processor.

The Droid seems to deliver minus the QualcommSnapDragon processor & increased RAM/ROM that I feel is needed to truly outclass the iPhone in processing performance.

The formerly named Motorola Sholes, Tao, & Calgary is now officially the Droid with some impressive specs:

• Texas Instruments OMAP3430 600 MHz CPU
• 5MP camera with flash
• 3.7 inch Capacitive screen
• 854 by 480 resolution
• 3.5mm headphone jack

The Motorola Droid looks to be the first professional use high end Android phone as well the upcoming Sony Xperia X3/X10 Rachael as the middle market is targeted by the HTC myTouch 3G & Hero while leaving the low end “clicks” to the Motorola Cliq & HTC Click.

Dominos may have been able to Avoid the Noid a decade ago but the iPhone does not look like it will be able to Avoid the Droid entering the next decade.

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I have been away from blogging here at GoogleAndBlog due to speaking at the Internet Marketing conference SMX Advanced in Seattle most of last week as I slowly had reassurance not to check my phone for the red blinking battery dying light.

Since Google IO almost 2 weeks ago I have just charged my Ion Phone 3 times as opposed to my G1 which I would have to charge multiple times in 1 day.

As a note, I didn’t enable GPS and have the screen brightness down to the minimum same as I would with my G1 previously.

The battery is 1340mAh vs the 1150mAh on the G1 – over 100 hours more standby time according to the specs.

Since I have over a week to actually use the phone I felt its better to provide a review now than just an initial impression out of the box or a canned review seen anywhere else.

The Ion does perform much faster than the G1 with a more efficient processor and increased internal memory of 288MB RAM and 512MB ROM vs the 192 MB RAM and 256 ROM of the G1.

*** The Ion ironically has a slightly older processor Qualcomm MSM7200A 528 MHz vs the Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 MHz but IS more efficient in battery life and provides better video recording – as with the increased memory actually performs better than the G1. ***

The Android engineers at Google IO told me this phone which they call Magic or Sapphire has a much better chance to handle FLASH when available on Android than the G1.

It also came embedded with the same CupCake update everyone by now should have on the G1 but is over 1.5 ounces lighter.

Oddly it did NOT include an IM application except Google Talk.

The down side is I am not a big fan of the onscreen keyboard as my typing speed has gone down multi-fold as I wish it had a pop down keyword like the Palm Pre.

Overall if you are not a heavy text, IM, or Twitter and want a little more memory, speed, and a sleeker look then I would suggest to you the myTouch 3G coming out this summer in the US.

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