Google's own-brand Nexus One smartphone will go on sale in the UK next month and will be available solely through the search giant's own web store.
So claims the Telegraph, which claims that Vodafone will be the official UK provider for the Nexus One, but that like in the US Google itself will be the sole outlet for the device.
The Telegraph quotes "sources close to both companies" as saying April is the earliest realistic date for the launch. The report claimed Vodafone was apparently keen on a March launch, which suggests the delay has been on Google's side.
The Nexus One was launched in the US in the first week of January, but Google broke with convention by announcing it would be selling it directly through its own Google.com/phone webstore rather than through a service provider.
Technically, UK consumers were able to get their hands on the Google "super phone" from launch, but were forced to pay third-party providers such as Play.com up to 600 for a SIM-free model.
From the start, Google said Vodafone would be its UK partner when the Nexus One made it to the UK through official channels, but was only willing to narrow the timeframe down to sometime during the spring.
The Telegraph report is consistent with that prediction, though it fails to reveal any specifics such as Vodafone's likely tariff structure, saying only that the Nexus One "is likely to be priced very similarly to comparable smartphones such as the iPhone".
In addition, with T-Mobile having potentially emerged as a second Nexus One provider, it's not known how this will impact its efforts to offer the HTC-made handset as a rival to Vodafone.
The Nexus One has seen limited success in the US, with Google only managing to sell 20,000 units in its first week on sale. Reasons put forward for its mediocre performance thus far include minimal press build-up ahead of the launch and a lack of marketing spend around it.
Vodafone and Google had no comment on the claims.
