Google Sued Over Nexus One Troubles

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Google Nexus One Smartphone

Apple and AT&T have long been the targets of litigants who believe that the two companies have exaggerated the iPhone's capabilities in their marketing. Now it's Google's turn.

Google introduced its Nexus One mobile phone in January, hoping to change the way mobile phones are sold by offering it to customers directly through its Web site without a carrier service plan. It also offered a subsidized version with a T-Mobile service plan. By the middle of July, Google gave up and discontinued the Nexus One, citing disappointing sales.

But during its brief time on the market, the Nexus One managed to disappoint some customers. Following the launch of the Nexus One, many users complained about poor 3G network performance.

Google characterized the issues at the time as affecting a small number of users.

Nonetheless, one Nexus One user is suing, in the hope of finding enough other aggrieved Nexus One users to allow his claim to be certified as a class action.

Attorneys representing Nathan Nabors, a resident of Orlando, Florida, filed a lawsuit against Google on Tuesday alleging violations of the Communications Act and of trade laws related to warranties. The lawsuit claims that the Nexus One phone suffered connectivity problems on T-Mobile's network and that Google provided inadequate customer support to deal with these problems.

"Google either knew, reasonably should have known, or was obligated to understand that the [Nexus One] could not consistently perform at a 3G level, contrary to Google's representations," the complaint says.

A Google spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.