Sony Ericsson’s head Bert Nordberg has shared with Swedish publication Sydsvenskan the rather salacious news that his company was asked to build the so-called Google phone before HTC… and it turned down the opportunity. Fearing brand dilution or something equally crazy, Nordberg states that Sony Ericsson is committed to building only its own-branded hardware and will not be a subcontractor to anyone. Haughty words from a company whose own Android device is still a good couple of months away from hipsters’ pockets, but we’re sure Bert knows best. After all, it’s not like HTC got a ton of positive press and brand awareness out of its partnership with Google, and it’s exceptionally clear that SE doesn’t need a dime of additional revenue.

Stupid decision?

Look at it this way. HTC got to spend Google’s coin on RD to develop the Nexus One… then take what they learned and put it into the desire with tweaks and improvements (obviously they also removed a couple of features like the noise cancelling, but I’ve never had that so I wouldn’t miss it) then sell it for themselves. They get paid twice, don’t waste time or money developing an OS because Google already did it. We all start to respect the brand more.

Win win for HTC all-round.