plan w/ carrier turns out to be more expensive than off contract price... can't believe most people still think contract is the way to go. I agree the device is nice, but the camera and battery still could be improved to justify the price increase.
I think it's a lot easier for people to dish out $50-$200 upfront and go on a contract than it is to dish out $650+ for a phone outright.
Also, it depends on what plan you have and how much you're paying to determine whether it's cheaper to buy outright or buy on a plan. If you're on an $80 plan (like I am) and fork out $650 for a phone, then you'll be worse off than the person who paid $50 upfront (which is what I believe the Nexus 6 will be on AT&T?) and then the $80 monthly charge or whatever.
Agree with you about the camera and battery. This Nexus seems like a (finally) zero-compromise phone. Other Nexus devices were good, but I had issues with battery performance, camera quality, speakers, etc. This one seems to dispel all issues the previous phones had.
13mp, f2.0 camera with OIS - Sounds excellent
Dual front facing speakers - Great
3,220 mah battery - With Android Lollipop, should be solid battery life
Also comes with a nice metal band around the phone, 1440p AMOLED screen which critics seem to love and DisplayMate have rated as one of the best (if not the best) screens. Then of course it has the beastly Snapdragon 805 with 3gb ram.
Just sounds like a monster of a phone in all respects. On paper I really cant criticise anything about the phone, except that the physical size of the device might be too big for some. But if you're comfortable with that, I think it's really hard to pick a flaw with the Nexus 6.