20,000…that is how many fans attend most sold out arena concerts, NHL hockey games (in Canada anyway), and NBA matches. 20,000 is also the number of Nexus One smartphones sold in its first week. Because of this unexpectedly low figure, T-Mobile has dropped the upgrade price from $379 to $279 for subscribers with data plans. The few folks who have actually paid the original upgrade amount are being reimbursed $100.

Clearly, the US carrier is desperately trying to stimulate sales. The worst news for Google is that the Nexus One is being sold below cost, so even at current unlocked and contract (unless T-Mobile is giving Google an outrageous cut) prices, the company is not profiting, so do not hope for substantial price cuts unless Google completely gives up on the phone and liquidates it.

Motorola managed to ship around 250,000 Droids in its debut week. I think that Motorola’s being first to use a WVGA screen, Android 2.0, and a fast ARM processor has stolen away from the Nexus One’s potential customer base. Although I would choose the latter, I would not do so if I already had the former. Others looking for a new smartphone are probably waiting for a Nexus One price drop and for the slick looking HTC Legend, which is supposed to replace the Hero, probably at a lower MSRP.