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Nexus 5 32GB black version sells out in six days

The black, 32GB model of Google's tasty new Nexus 5 phone has sold out -- and the 16GB version may not be far behind. There's plenty of the white ones left.

Nick Hide Managing copy editor
Nick manages CNET's advice copy desk from Springfield, Virginia. He's worked at CNET since 2005.
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The black, 32GB model of Google's tasty new Nexus 5 phone has sold out. "We are out of inventory. Please check back soon," the Play Store plaintively bleats, after just six days of intensive hammering from Android fans.

The £339 mobile is still available in white, with stock leaving the warehouse by 8 November, while the cheaper £299 16GB model is still in stock in both colours. You can have a white one in just a few days, but the black one is clearly in demand -- your order will take "2-3 weeks" to process.

Google's new flagship mobile was an immediate hit, with orders for the black versions delayed by a week after just a day on sale. Yesterday the wait for prospective buyers was raised to 2-3 weeks.

"We don't comment on sales figures," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

If you're utterly desperate for a 32GB version, O2 exclusively sells it on contract (as opposed to SIM-free from the Play Store) for… £529. I'd wait if I were you.

You would think the Big G would have learned its lesson last time round, after the miserable stock shortages that hamstrung the Nexus 4. That bargainous blower was 10 times more popular than the search behemoth expected -- so it hardly takes a genius to realise the sequel would be in demand.

We can only speculate why this is the case, but don't forget Google's goal for the Nexus devices is to set the bar for other device makers -- keep them honest, essentially -- and not to make money. LG, which makes the Nexus 5, needs to sell its own phones (the 5 is based on the LG G2) and may have some clause in its contract enabling it to limit supply.

Andy's just spent the weekend getting to know the new mobile and they got along swimmingly -- you can read his full Nexus 5 review here. The only real hiccup came when using its camera, which isn't a patch on the high-tech snappers found in more expensive rivals.

Have you been thwarted in your search for a new Nexus? If you've taken delivery, feel free to gloat about how good it is in the comments below, or over on our well-stocked Facebook page.

Watch this: Google Nexus 5