Google's original vision for Nexus phones included the ability to buy unlocked hardware at an extra cost, but that idea never got much traction. The original unlocked Nexus One was only available through AT&T and T-Mobile, and the unlocked Nexus S was T-Mobile-only. With Verizon support rumored for the Galaxy Nexus, it's unclear what the unlocked options will be for U.S. consumers.

With new Ice Cream Sandwich features like folders, resizable widgets, and built-in photo effects, phone makers are running out of reasons to mess with the stock Android experience. Will phone makers tone down their user interface tweaks, or go to extremes to differentiate?

Matias Duarte, Google's Director of Android User Experience, says most Gingerbread phones are "" capable of supporting Ice Cream Sandwich, but so far, the response from phone makers has been mixed. Motorola says it'll in early 2012, but hasn't commented on other phones such as the Droid Bionic.