[tapoxi]

Unless the carrier blocks the update from going through. It took two months without a word from Verizon before my Galaxy Nexus finally got the Jellybean update, behind all the other Nexus phones.

At some point I imagine Verizon will simply stop supporting the phone, and the developer site will point to the last, 'carrier-blessed' OTA Android release.

If I can't trust a Nexus device on this platform, what can I trust?

[sahaj]

Only way to assure future updates is to buy an unlocked device directly from Google.

I bought an AT&T Nexus S from Best Buy for $49 with a 2 year contract. It did not receive updates from Google even though it had a Google logo on the back and I had to update manually by downloading from the device image download link mentioned above. I have a Galaxy Nexus now that I bought thru Google, it updated to the latest point release as soon as I turned it on. As long as device gets purchased with a contract at a subsidized price, don't expect updates to get to you over the air.

[bunderbunder]

> Only way to assure future updates is to buy an unlocked device directly from Google.

At least in the USA that's often a sucker move. You pay full price for the phone, but still end up paying a higher monthly fee to cover the subsidized handset you didn't take.

A couple carriers do offer BYO handset pricing. But if you want to stick with a big carrier like Verizon then the phones Google sells directly are effectively coming at an extremely hefty premium.