Why the Nexus is not "just another Android phone"

Okay, let’s make this clear: The Nexus is just another Android phone.

However, it’s one that Google have thrown the full weight of their marketing effort behind. Bear in mind these guys don’t hold press events for the opening of every envelope- the last big one announced Google Wave and that was only as part of a larger Google I/O gathering.

Furthermore, Google are notorious long-game thinkers. They gradually manoeuvre their way around the industry, insidiously implanting the importance of their products into your everyday lifestyle. It’s viral.

For example, Wave. I’m not writing this on Wave, therefore many will be eyeing it up as a bit of a flop. Nonsense, look at the next few years and then we’ll talk.  Again, Chrome– make a solid speedy browser then make it a new kind of operating system that won’t take off for a few years.

The Nexus (or, importantly, the Nexus One) is another step in Google’s long term strategy and just one front of the battle.

Android will sit across dozens of handsets, bringing with it a superior app store experience and a familiar interface across the range.  Don’t doubt the importance of this last point- how many people do you know who stuck with one brand over the years because the buttons were different on others?

But it’s not a superphone, even I have to draw the line there.  Let’s save that for the Nexus Six.