(Image courtesy of MacRumors)

From the “We Do It Because We Can” files: Ever wonder how the original iPhone launch sales stack up against the recent Motorola Droid and Google’s Nexus One? Well, wonder no more.

MacRumors is reporting that mobile analytics firm Flurry has a new blog post up Tuesday which compares the first 74 days worth of sales for Apple’s iPhone, Motorola’s Droid and Google’s Nexus One. 74 days was the amount of time that it took the original iPhone to reach one million units sold back in 2007.

In this case, Motorola’s Droid actually comes out on top, with an estimated 1.05 million units sold in the first 74 days. Motorola’s U.S. launch partner, Verizon Wireless, blitzed the media with ads touting all of the things the Droid could do that the iPhone couldn’t, so it’s little wonder they did so well -- presumably to Verizon customers who didn’t want to switch to AT&T to get an iPhone.

Sadly, the figures don’t show a shiny happy time for Google’s Nexus One, with a mere 135,000 units sold since its January launch -- this despite a veritable wave of publicity about the flagship device.

“Despite the fact that the Google Nexus One is the most advanced Android handset to date, and enjoyed substantial buzz leading up to its release, the launch has been overshadowed by lower than expected sales,” Flurry reports. “In our previous reports we offered several possible reasons including unconventional choices in marketing, pricing and distribution.”

As MacRumors points out, one important thing to remember is that Apple’s iPhone was launched unsubsidized, at $499 for an 4GB model and $599 for a 8GB model -- “well above what many casual handset purchasers were willing to pay for their devices,” which is one reason why the popular device took longer to reach one million units.

Shortly before that one million milestone was reached, Apple dropped the 4GB model and slashed $200 off the 8GB model, which is when the device really started to move. By comparison, Verizon’s Droid was only $199 after a subsidy, and many outlets were selling it for $149 or even less shortly after its launch.