This is pretty interesting. When the Nexus One first came out, one of the biggest questions was “What will the Nexus Two be?” for two reasons. Firstly, Google had initially indicated that they may produce devices of different form factors for different usages and needs, and secondly, what better way to welcome the first “superphone” by asking what its successor will be.
But, that was back when Google thought their business model for selling a phone exclusively unlocked and exclusively on the Internet was going to be successful. I’ll admit, I very seriously thought about getting one, but the question is “Why should I?” when I can run on down to my local carrier store and get a phone nearly as great (or better, for me, what with the TouchPro2 having a keyboard) for $150 on a contract, which works out since I intend to keep having phone service for awhile. (Although to be fair about the store thing, I knew I wanted the TouchPro2 after having used AT&T’s variant in their store, then I went over to the Verizon store where they weren’t carrying it, and had them order it up and deliver it to me.)
Of course, there are a lot of benefits to the idea of buying your phone unlocked, or at least off-contract, but those benefits are the most noticeable when you’re buying a device to use not as a phone but as a PDA, or if you’re in Europe and you’re going to be switching SIM chips between carriers in different countries. The benefits to buying off-contract involve being able to terminate that contract at will, and of course, being able to get a new device whenever it strikes your fancy. (Although that bit involves having the money for it too.)
I do wonder how long the Nexus One will be available in its current form, and whether or not there are any price reductions pending. As a media device, along with as a device to have just to fiddle with Android, the Nexus One doesn’t look completely terrible, and of course it has the advantages for me of being a) A google-experience device will receive updates far faster. (Because only Google controls the update process on it. Frequently, both the vendor of a mobile OS and the carrier the device is on will need to have their hands in software updates for devices, which slows down the process significantly, especially when you add in manufacturer enhancements such as HTC Sense or Samsung TouchWiz) B) The device is available for a set price, unlocked, willing to run wifi-only.
There are a few other Google Experience devices left. The HTC G1, which was the first shipping Android device is still available, and the Motorola Droid is also considered to be a Google Experience device, however those still have everybody’s hands on them when it’s software update time, meaning that Verizon Wireless has the capability (and frequently exercises this capability) to delay or put influence into a software update that Google and Motorola are working on. It’s annoying, and the Nexus One has been a great thing for people wanting the true, raw, most up-to-date Android experience.
I personally predict that there will be another Google-branded device at some point in time, because eventually the 1GHz Snapdragon will be considered old and slow even for phones and media playback devices. (Although when that’ll be is anyone’s guess: HTC continues to ship devices based on Ye Olde 528MHz Qualcomm 7200-series chips.)
What will be different about the next Google Phone is that it will probably be HTC or Motorola or Samsung branded, piece of hardware, with an agreement between Google, the manufacturer and the carriers that Google and only Google actually has its hand on maintaining the software for the device. And then the manufacturer and carriers will be responsible for marketing and distributing the device. But we’ll see.