Google has started selling an unlocked NFC smartphone direct to consumers in the US through its own online store. The company is offering the Galaxy Nexus for US$399 through its Google Play store. Users can purchase the HSPA+ handset and then choose between available mobile networks for their cellular contract. “You can use it on the GSM network of your choice, including T-Mobile and AT&T,” wrote Andy Rubin, Google’s senior vice president of mobile and digital content, in a blog. The handset also comes pre-installed with the Google Wallet app, said Rubin. Selling direct in this way might give a boost to take-up of Google Wallet. Currently the service is only supported in handsets sold by one mobile operator Sprint which is currently selling the Galaxy Nexus for a price of US$200 with a two-year contract.

Selling handsets direct to consumers is a revival by Google of a strategy it abandoned two years ago when it tried the same approach to offer the HTC-manufactured Nexus One.  However the company struggled with customer support. Now it is confident it can return to the same strategy. Andy Rubin said Google had established a new Devices section in its Google Play store, implying other handsets and tablets will be sold direct to consumers. He said the company had “implemented new customer support services to improve the purchasing experience on Google Play. We’ve taken all of this into consideration in designing Devices on Google Play”. The idea was to use the same approach to countries outside the US soon, said Rubin.