Google has sold a mere 135,000 Nexus One phones since the smartphone's much-ballyhooed launch on 5 January, according to the latest numbers from mobile analytics outfit Flurry.

The estimate covers the handset's first 74 days of existence. By comparison, the inaugural Apple iPhone reached a million sales in its first 74 days. The Motorola Droid topped 1.05 million. And both trail the iPhone 3GS, which hit 1.6 million sales in just seven days.

The Nexus One is sold solely online through Google's very own handset store, and it's officially available in only three countries. But when you consider the exceedingly-ridiculous hype generated by the Googlephone launch, you'd have to say that sales are on the umimpressive side.

Considering that Google provided Nexus One handsets to its employees prior to the phone's launch and subsequently handed out countless phones for free at various conferences, Flurry's numbers may be inflated by tens of thousands of handsets. Google employees currently numbers about 20,000. Flurry tracks devices using analytics software embedded in applications downloaded to roughly 80 per cent of all iPhone and Android handsets.

Last week, Goldman Sachs downgraded its Nexus One sales estimates to say that Google would sell a mere one million Googlephones by the end of the year. Initially, the financial outfit had predicted 3.5 million sales.

The Nexus One is a GSM-based phone that's available unlocked from Google's store. But a subsidized version can also be purchased from US carrier T-Mobile.

Vodafone has also committed to offering its service in tandem with the handset, and Verizon Wireless - the largest carrier in the US - says it will provide service with a CDMA-based version of the phone.

These Vodafone and Verizon options will also be sold exclusively from the Google store. But clearly, most phone buyers still prefer to buy their phones directly from the carriers - not from an online ad broker. ®