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Google Nexus One

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company initially released the Nexus One for T-Mobile and soon thereafter for AT&T. At the time, Google also promised a version for Verizon in the spring, but now it said its plans have changed.

"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," Google said in a statement.

The about-face, a potential sign of lackluster sales, is a blow to Google's plans to carve a position for itself in the smartphone sector and compete with Silicon Valley rival Apple.

It wasn't immediately clear what prompted Google to retreat from Verizon, the largest wireless network in the U.S., but some analysts have suggested the move underscores the strained relationships it has with established mobile companies.

By developing the Nexus One, Google seemed to challenge the manufacturers and carriers it initially recruited as partners to sell phones based on its Android mobile operating system.

Google also broke with convention by offering the device exclusively on its Web site in January, cutting out wireless retail stores and key distribution points. It sold the smartphone directly to consumers without a service contract in an attempt to establish a new model for pricing, marketing and distributing mobile phones.