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Advice for a prospective Andoid owner / developer - OS re-installs?

You can't wipe and reinstall the OS. You can wipe the phone and flash/reflash a new ROM--there's a difference.

The N1 runs vanilla Android and will get OS updates faster than a Sense UI phone, ala the Desire. Like the G1 before it, the N1's meant to be a developer's phone.

Am I free to run Sense UI on the N1 and vanilla Android on the Desire? In other words, are the OSs completely interchangeable with the hardware?

If you root the device, yes.

As a developer I want to be able to wipe the OS, re-install different versions, generally not be tied or restricted in anyway are there any problems with either device in this respect?

No. You wouldn't be able to install, say, Android 1.6 on it for example. You wouldn't be able to just "install" MotoBlur or Samsung's custom UI or Xperia X10's custom UI on it--all of these have to be ported, and then only if the kernels are compatible (for ex, attempts to port the X10's mediascape are failing right now because it is based on an older version of Android than what the N1 shipped with).

Lastly, do the extra Nexus features, in your expert opinions, justify the extra cost ($300 more for the N1 than the Desire in the UK)?

If you root the Desire, you can flash a plain-Jane Android ROM on it, rendering it almost indistinguishable from a Nexus (apart, obviously, from the lack of noise-canceling mic). So I wouldn't say it justifies $300 more. If you don't want to root--but I can't imagine why not--and want vanilla Android, then go with the N1.
 
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