The Wall Street Journal and Computer World's Android Power blog are reporting on rumors that Google is adopting a new model for Nexus phone distribution. Instead of going with a single manufacturer to build the next Nexus, Google will be partnering with the big three (Moto, HTC, and Samsung) plus Sony, Asus, ZTE, and Huawei for the next Nexus. Each company will have early access to the next edition of Android (Jelly Bean, or whatever they call it). This matches up with Google's assurances to the manufacturers that Google's acquisition of Motorola won't disadvantage them.
That's only half the news, though. The other bit is Google and the manufacturers will then sell these devices directly to consumers, unlocked and contract free, through the Google Play website, much like what they're doing with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus right now. This will not only allow Google to control what's on the phone (eliminating carrier bloat) but will also allow them to push out timely upgrades to the software.
This is great if you're on a GSM carrier that uses SIM cards, like AT&T and T-Mobile. But what about the CDMA carriers, Sprint and Verizon, that don't use SIMs except for LTE? How would that going to affect them? I'm not sure how an "unlocked" CDMA phone would work. Would we be stuck with carrier-branded versions of these devices? Or is there more to an LTE SIM than I know?
That's only half the news, though. The other bit is Google and the manufacturers will then sell these devices directly to consumers, unlocked and contract free, through the Google Play website, much like what they're doing with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus right now. This will not only allow Google to control what's on the phone (eliminating carrier bloat) but will also allow them to push out timely upgrades to the software.
This is great if you're on a GSM carrier that uses SIM cards, like AT&T and T-Mobile. But what about the CDMA carriers, Sprint and Verizon, that don't use SIMs except for LTE? How would that going to affect them? I'm not sure how an "unlocked" CDMA phone would work. Would we be stuck with carrier-branded versions of these devices? Or is there more to an LTE SIM than I know?
