Nexus S Trends Big on Free Deal; Best Buy, Not so Much

The Nexus S has shot to the top of Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) hot searches list, most likely on the news that the phone is being given away for free at Best Buy (NYSE: BBY).

There is a catch, however. You can't simply head to your nearest Best Buy, pick up the phone and go home. To get in on this impressive deal, you've got to sign a two-year contract with Sprint (NYSE: S), AT&T (NYSE: T), or T-Mobile.

With a 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor, 16GB iNAND flash memory, 720x480p video resolution, a five megapixel camera, and talk time of up to 6.7 hours, the Nexus S is certainly an appealing freebie.

Unfortunately, Best Buy does not seem to be benefiting much from the deal. While there are likely other, much larger reasons for the company's troubles, its stock is down roughly 1%. Google, meanwhile, is up approximately 1%. Coincidence?

Perhaps Best Buy needs to build a mobile OS, distribute it to several phones, and then give one of them away for free.

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