[Nexus 6  General] jjhiza:
I'm glad you're so passionate about this, but honestly, I think you're looking at this the wrong way.

1) Yes, Google does get to use top of the line specs, premium build quality, and lower pricing, and still expect the Nexus 6 to only outsell its predecessors. Should it compete directly with the Note 4 and the 6+? Yes, it should, but it's unrealistic to expect it to. iPhone is a known quantity with a massive and loyal following... Their supporters will buy anything with an Apple logo on it. The Note devices have set the phablet benchmark thus far, and they also have a loyal consumer base. The fact is that iPhone and the Note series are household names already. Nexus is not. This device will sell better than previous versions, simply because it's being marketed properly, and it's available at all major retailers, but it's ridiculous to assume that the Nexus 6 can grab a serious share (30-45%) of the phablet market overnight.

2) If I offended anyone with my rant, then apologies, but the fact remains that if you've been on XDA root threads long enough, you know that I'm right. More users come every day, not seeking to bring anything to the Android landscape, but rather to find the fastest way possible to root and install CM. This is the toolkit generation... Users who want to take the easy way out, while expecting more advanced users to bail them out when they run into trouble. Sorry if that insults people, but it's a fact.

3) Actually, my points have been completely relevant, if you're looking at the situation objectively, and understand business, economics, marketing, and finance from the inside, instead of only as a consumer. The link I provided shows factually, that Google has gone this route before. You can't argue the validity of that.

Also, the term "expensive" is completely subjective - continent upon income level, perceived value, inflation/deflation, and demand. To those of us who live in the US, we're complaining about the fact that this Nexus is $700, right? Well, to someone in India, African nations, or poorer counties in general, $700 is about a third of a family's gross annual income. So who are we to complain really, in light of that fact?

I think you've completely missed my point, and you're not really looking at the total picture.

1) Google's done this before. Point and case is the $699 price tag of the Galaxy Nexus. So yes, there IS prescient.

2) Demand for phablet devices is up, as evidenced by Apple's launch of such a device. They wouldn't launch the 6+ if there wasn't a market for it.

3) Google is attempting to take the Nexus brand to the next level, making it a household name. Ergo, we get a premium device with a premium price point. The law of perceived value applies here.

4) The device is still available for a drastic up-front discount, if you get a carrier subsidy. Get the phone for free like I will, and pay it off over the next few months. Saves you money at the register, and still gives you the option to buy the device outright.

5) I didn't touch on this before, but very few developers actually care what their users want. They build for themselves, their friends, and their families. If a community request falls in line with their agenda, then they'll include feature xyz. If not, we're beat.

The top developers - Franco, Morfic, Rascarlo, Imoseyon, Ezekiel, the AOSPA team, Faux, and others - all of these guys are responsible for some of the features are seeing now, whether that be user profiles (introduced by CM I believe), tap to wake, power profiles (I think Franco did this first), RAM optimizations, ART, dalvik, and bionic optimizations... They've all been started in the forums, and adopted by larger companies, because those devs push code upstream. Their opinions matter, and yes, their more important, because THEY are actively helping to move the platform forward. The general Android user is not, because they don't have the time, skills, resources, or care to do so.

*The fact that you've owned every Nexus device means that you've seen first-hand how things have changed over the years. The Galaxy Nexus was supposed to be the device that took Nexus mainstream, but (I believe) the issues with Verizon hampered the phone's desirability significantly. The device was great (I still have mine) but it was undermined by poor marketing, and terrible carrier support (VZW). This time around, Google looks poised to get things right on all fronts, and personally, I'm looking forward to it. Be mad at Google if you want, for costing you an extra half week's paycheck - that's your choice, but if you're that concerned over price, maybe you should be going the carrier subsidy route anyway. Gas, grass, or ass... Nobody rides for free.