One thing that made the Nexus One noteworthy was that it was the first Android handset Google decided to take complete control of, including its sale.  Even today, if you want a Nexus One – including the subsidized T-Mobile version – you have to order it from Google’s Nexus One web page. 

But that will change.

Engadget is reporting that Google will “eventually” stop selling the Nexus One online (or presumably in any other manner), and will instead shift to a carrier distribution strategy. Google, it seems, has come to believe that prospective owners would like to actually hold and use a smartphone before committing to it for two years.  Go figure.

The story does not provide a date when this change might take place, but it does state that Google plans to use its existing Nexus One web page to "promote ‘a variety of Android phones available globally.’"

While the limited success of their direct-sale model must have disappointed the Google folks who put it in place, this change is a good one; if the Nexus One begins showing up in T-Mobile – and even AT&T – stores, sales of the handset will certainly increase.

Update: The Google Blog confirms the story.