So why aren't they already doing this with the Nexus 4 and offering it for $300 unlocked, instead of charging $200 with contract? They can start doing this today. They don't have to wait for the iPhone - unless they made a deal with Apple that they can't sell a Nexus phone for half the price of what the iPhone will be when they'll sell it unlocked.
Want a Nexus 4? Grab it direct from Google, then get a SIM card from Straight Talk (http://www.straighttalksim.com/). $45 a month for 'unlimited' voice / SMS / data (throttled after a certain amount - no big deal, if you're near wifi often) riding on AT&T or T-Mobile networks, depending on where you live.
I converted from AT&T a month ago and it's working out pretty well so far, after some initial headaches getting them to provision the SIM card properly. I'm still on the AT&T network, just through the Straight Talk MVNO.
Straight Talk is a scam and they'll block you (not throttle, block) once you pass a pretty small usage threshold. Their own forums are nothing but people complaining about getting cut off.
Remember that all of those carriers are reselling service. They cannot possibly offer it for truly cheaper than the big guys. They are just buying in bulk in hopes that you don't use much.
Actually, T-Mobile offers 100 minutes, unlimited SMS and data for $30 a month. Might be cheaper if you don't use voice too much- and you might even be able to get LTE on your Nexus 4 when T-Mobile launch it (I forget what the final verdict was on that whole story)
