Editorial: Is the onslaught of Nexus brand devices tarnishing the brand overall?

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Published on Monday, 22 October 2012 12:21

Back in the day of the first Nexus device, the Nexus One, the device brought with it all the hardware we had wanted at that time and then some. It was what could truly be considered a flagship device as it was ahead of pretty much any other Android device available at the time it launched. Since then we have had a few more Nexus devices land in our laps, each one seemingly a little less stellar than its predecessor, although still very strong devices. Now we have had a rumor for awhile that there could be up to 5 Nexus devices heading our way soon, each from a different manufacturer.

The Nexus S was still a strong device although many other Android devices were compatible to it when that one launched. Then came the Galaxy Nexus from Samsung which, still a strong device, sported hardware that, for the most part, every other Android phone already had. The appeal to the Galaxy Nexus was more in terms of the OS version it would be sports, the first phone to run Jelly Bean (Android 4.1).

Then came the Nexus 7 tablet which, for the most part, had all the hardware you could want in a 7" tablet but came with low storage options. That, of course, is changing with the Nexus 7 32GB model on the horizon but that is after the fact that the Nexus 7 has already been out for a few months. The draw wasn't so much the hardware for the tablet but the price point. You were getting some pretty impressive hardware for a ridiculously low price. Now rumors of a Nexus 10 are starting to circulate more and more and the hardware for tablets hasn't really improved aside from more RAM and more storage.

Now we have the LG Nexus also on the horizon which, if rumors are true, it may or may not be coming with LTE compatibility. This also leaves, if the rumors are true, four other companies who are going to be releasing Nexus brand devices in the near future. This begs the question, what is really setting this new Nexus devices apart from any other Android device these days?

The allure of the Nexus brand is still there and one of the only benefits right now to getting a Nexus device over any other Android device out there is really the fact that they receive OS updates first and that, for a fairly low price, you're getting an unlock or off-contract Android phone. To me it seems that the Nexus line needs a new flagship device, something that brings all the best and newest hardware under one case, in order to remind us why we used to love the Nexus brand so much. As of late though, reporting on a Nexus device has gotten to the point that it feels like we are just reporting on any other Android device's release.

So, we pose the question to you now. Do you think that the Nexus brand isn't what it used to be or are you still excited when a new one is announced, even though the hardware isn't flagship label material like it used to be? Should there be another Nexus device with bleeding edge technology to help reinvigorate the brand? Let us know in the comments below.

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