As a fan of Nokia devices I know that they have been selling unlocked phones for years and people balk at the high initial price you pay for carrier freedom so I don't know why people think that an HTC made Google phone (there have already been a couple of them before) will change people's perception about unlocked phones.
Can anyone rationally explain to me why this is such a big deal for people? Is the smartphone news in December just so slow that people are grasping for any kind of story they can to generate excitement? I just don't get it myself.