[Nexus 4 General] kindiboy:
I'll tell you why, try to see the implications and am sure you'll understand what am saying especially if you live in the US (outside of US borders a portion of the Nexus program is useless).

The Nexus program starting with the Nexus one made it clear that they want to introduce the customer to a new way of buying phones and using phone companies services, this is the first portion/goal of it. The second one is making a phone where Google can show what Android really is software wise. The third one is to show what a minimum standard for an Android phone should be hardware. In a simple word this whole thing was trying to show openness.

Let's stay on point, the success of the device or failure is irrelevant here in the context of the goals they set. Needless to say Google failed to make people see the "their" light. But OEMs, carriers, competition, were paying attention. They were trying to disrupt the whole telecommunication industry within the United States.

The biggest enemies Google managed to make were the telecommunication companies especially AT&T & Verizon (check goal number one). Last year Google introduced their Galaxy Nexus LTE version on Verizon. Remember what happened? The device got delayed and they screwed the unlocked version population within the United States (check goal number one), after they released the GSM version unlocked the Versizon LTE users got screwed because they weren't getting the updates when they were available (check goal number two), it didn't stop there, Verizon didn't let GN LTE users get Google Wallet (check goal number two).

After all this being said, the Nexus is a special device for a lot of reasons, first one is being open only important within the US, second one is software.

Now within this context you can't slam the lack of the LTE version of the N4 just because everyone else has it, you have to put it within the context of what this device is trying to achieve the 3 goals, who is it for etc... Google gave up on the 3rd goal (not entirely, just when it comes to LTE) for the greater good from their perspective to achieve their own goals.

That's why I say the N4 was taken out of context when they reviewed it and hammered it for not having LTE, they should have mentioned why it doesn't have LTE, and they take points out or slam it into oblivion for not having it, it's different than what they did.

Now in The Verge case, they know all of this and they are hammering Google for not trying harder, saying why didn't they do what Apple did when they first introduced the iPhone. They failed to realize that Apple went to Verizon first but they didn't bite, then they went to AT&T. They failed to see how powerful those carriers are, they failed to see that when the iPhone was first released it was the most especial piece of hardware on earth.

Am sorry, this is the last paragraph, how do we think carriers like AT&T and Verizon would go on with this program? Only if they can make money out of it, only if the demand was high. The Nexus program is a movement not just a phone, if you are not willing to give up something for a better future (not particularly with Google) but just to weaken the carriers mafia then you failed to see what this device presents. They should have made this device for what it really presents. Am especially hard on The Verge because they claim to be a culture news reporter as well, with what they did, or represented did they help with the cause or hurt it? (Am looking especially at Nilay)

You people decide...