[Galaxy S III General] BarryH_GEG:
It would be shocking to me if anyone following XDA didn't know what the "Nexus" program is. In fact, below is a cool Q&A session with Google's director of the program.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/android-nexus-strategy/

As Android's matured and devices have become more powerful I've become less obsessed with updates and more appreciative of the optimizations Samsung and HTC provide that tailor the s/w to a specific devices h/w for better performance. The Note 10.1 creams the N10 in CPU and browser benchmarks (which it shouldn’t) and the reason is Samsung's device-specific optimizations whereas 4.2 on the N10 is generic and designed to run on any AOSP device. You can also see it between the Optimus G and N4 and LG can't write s/w to save their lives.

I truly wonder if some people even use their devices to actually do anything other than run benchmarks and get off on the fluidity of the carousel affects and animations. Not everyone is looking to make their mobile devices "projects" on an involuntary basis. And to a mere non-XDA mortal buying and using a N4 as it comes out of the box they'll have a far less complete experience than if they bought a One X or SGS3. Speaking only for myself and the way I use my devices Sense and TW make my life easier because functions (even if their "non-standard" Android) are better integrated, make me more productive, and allow me to get stuff done faster. And some of what's in Google's new UI (notifications, quick menus) has been in Sense and TW for over a year. Obviously overlays add a resource burden but the additional functionality is a worthy trade off (for me). And by the time people with Nexus devices add back third party apps that do what the 10-20 apps imbedded in Sense and TW do they'll have the same amount of code on their devices using a similar amount of background resources with less integration.

Each point and version update Google pushes out is becoming less and less significant because Android's matured so much. Let’s look at the benefits between 4.1>4.2 for example. The Google Now enhancements are probably the most meaningful and can be gotten from Play by anyone on JB. Google's stock camera has always been average at best and since I don't use 180 degree panoramas the value of 360 degree panoramas is just a parlor trick. I don’t need Miracast because I have AllShare Cast and Media Link HD. Part of the problem with the update-a-month strategy though is app developers are getting weary when 70% of the Android installed base is on GB or lower as of November 1. I'd be happy if after HC has been out for over a year I wasn't still using crappy phone apps on my tablet which more frequent updates from direct from Google won’t resolve.

So I get the point you're making and that updates are a high priority for you. They are for me too but I rank some other things as equally important. And the Nexus program is as big a train wreck update wise based on the example below which shows the splintering of the GN to work on different carriers, different network protocols, and in different regions.

I guess we'll find out soon how big a hit the N4 will be for Google. The GN was certainly a fail with only 750K sold. Hopefully a bargain basement price will help turn that around.