More Nexus One Rumors, fact or wishing?

With all the new rumors coming in this week, it's easy to get caught up in the hype of the Nexus One. An unlocked, HOT handset for $199 before "Google rebate" of $100 is almost too good to be true. And now they are by invite only from Google. Both a way to fairly distribute what could be a limited share of phones and an excellent marketing concept. Keep in mind, this is one of the most talked about, most reported phones of the YEAR, and it's the 2nd half of December. Google has gotten prime time marketing and not spent a dime on it. To restrict access to this only causes us poor users to droll just that much more.

What does this tell us? From my point of view, it says that people WANT Google to take a chance on breaking the phone company's iron grip on the industry. We can't count on the phone industry to change itself anymore, and legislation isn't always the right way to go.

With AT&T delivering what is really sub par phone service to a vast number of people while raking in billions in profit, yet growing their customer base because of the draw and marketing of the iPhone, there is little motivation for them to change at all. No matter how frustrated I get with AT&T's service, lack of non-iPhone smart phones, I still believe they are free to set their pricing model as they see fit. I can tell you I won't be extending my contracts and when I can afford to pay the EFT's to drop their service, then I will move to a different carrier.

With a growing number of users sharing these same frustrations (visit this thread in the AT&T customer forums), it's easy to see why people's wishing is becoming rumors. I personally still believe that the Nexus One is going to be like it's other ADP offerings, hopefully at a reduced price. Especially true since I tried to flash a bad ROM to my G1 and now have a G1 shaped paperweight.

With the hype and mentions of the "developers get first dibs" being thrown out there, I would imagine a sharp upswing in the number of people who register in the next few weeks. An extra $25 to get first in line for a 1Ghz, 512MB, 802.11b/g/n phone for a rumored $99 after rebate? Sounds like a pretty inexpensive wager to me, one I personally took up. I'm also a part time software developer, so it works out fairly well.

What are your thoughts? What excites YOU about the Nexus One, or will you pass on it for another phone?