Background:
If you're like me, you chafe at the prices charged for smart phones. Most phones are purchased with $100 to $200 down payment, plus $20 a month for a two year contract. That's $600 or more for the phone over two years.
To make matters worse, you're locked into a single carrier's network for two years. So you can't jump to a carrier that offers a better deal or better service in your area. Traveling outside the country, you've got to unlock your phone from your USA carrier, or pay expensive roaming charges.
A few manufacturers sell unlocked versions of their phones, which release you from the requirement to use one carrier. Most unlocked phones carry a premium price, about $650. And you have to pay in full up front, or arrange financing on your own. (Apple and Best Buy let you pay over an extended period without interest charges, for example.)
Another annoyance is the manufacturers' and carriers' propensity to pre-load your phone with a new user interface, extra apps, and additional utilities. A few apps take special advantage of some hardware feature of the phone. But most seem aimed at tying you to that carrier's services. All take up storage memory on your phone. Some of these extras can be deleted or customized, but some cannot.
One last issue with carrier-locked phones is how long it takes the carrier to release their version of a software update. Months can go by before the latest version of Android is released by your carrier. (Apple is an exception. Apple controls the release of updates to all iPhones, regardless of carrier.)
All carriers and manufacturers specify how long they will continue to provide software updates to a particular model of phone. Often, that time is two years from the introduction of the phone (note: not from the time when you bought the phone).
Google's Nexus phone offers one solution to these problems. The phones are less expensive (Nexus 5 starts at $350 today), and come with plain vanilla Android OS. The Nexus models can be used on ATT, Sprint or T-Mobile in USA, or on one of the many discount phone services (termed MVNOs, for Mobile Virtual Network Operators). MNVOs buy from the major phone services in bulk, and resell the service.
The Nexus models receive OS updates as soon as Google releases them. Google guarantees software updates for two years. A community of Android programming enthusiasts (including a company called Cyanogenmod) often provides support for older Nexus models.
Oneplus is a new competitor for Nexus. The One costs less and offers more up-to-date hardware. Cyanogen has provided a version of Android that is easier than stock Android to customize to your needs.
