I have a Galaxy Nexus, skipped the Nexus 4, so am treating this as a signal to upgrade. Although I leading towards the Note 3 at the moment... Will definitely consider the Nexus 5 once it is out though.
Although I only got around to putting Cyanogenmod on my GN a month or 2 ago so it kind of feels like I did just get a new phone...
Verizon blew the Google relationship with the LTE Galaxy Nexus. It was the flagship Google device at the time but Verizon decided to block Google Wallet on it. Then Verizon held back the Jelly Bean updates for months, which is something that isn't supposed to happen on "Nexus" devices. I think since then Google has learned their lesson and steered clear of partnering with Verizon for anything.
Yeah me too. I really think I am going to switch to T-Mobile so I can have this phone. Fortunately, I live near D.C. and don't travel much so I coverage shouldn't be an issue. It's just annoying how Verizon won't let a phone that gets updates straight from Google on its network.
Isn't verizon all CMDA? I thought the deal was all the Google phones were GSM. Haven't looked to closely at that recently though, they might all be universal.
Futhermore, the Nexus 5 is rumored to be coming out on Sprint (though definitely not Verizon).
The reason Verizon is getting passed up for two Nexus devices in a row (and probably will continue to be passed over indefinitely) is not because they are a CDMA carrier, but because of they way they mishandled the Galaxy Nexus.
In essence, Verizon doesn't want to allow phones on their network without Verizon controlling them, installing bloatware on them, etc. Verizon insisted on handling the updates for the Galaxy Nexus, and these were a joke; the Verizon GN is still not up-to-date with the most recent version of Android, last I heard[0].
And because they're a CDMA carrier, they can easily prevent phones from being used on their network.
[0] I have one, but I use Cyanogenmod so I can get timely updates.
The specs found in FCC docs for what is believed to be this phone suggests that the phone contains radios that support the Sprint network which is CDMA, but does not support the Verizon LTE band.
Perhaps in the not so distant future VoLTE will be common and phones will be, conceptually at least, portal across any network.
Just get the LG G2, it's the same as the Nexus 5, but with a bigger screen, bigger battery, and better camera. You can easily root it and install a custom recovery. Then all you have to do is avoid installing any OTA updates and wait for CM to be ported (the work has already started and an alpha version was released a week or so ago).
In fact, you can get the Verizon G2 for just $99 right now[0]. I got it and I have no complaints. It's the best phone available on Verizon right now, hands down. The built-in IR transmitter even came in handy earlier today.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/10/17/breaking-nexus-5-par...