It’s been almost a week since the Internet posts went into a frenzy over an alleged new Google phone, now known as the Nexus One. I got word of it on Saturday, right about the time I was contemplating a blog on my own ongoing dilemma surrounding the purchase of an Android device.

In my household, we’ve been in wait mode for about three months now over which Android phone to buy. You see, I promised my husband a new device for his birthday, which was back in October. We’re not usually this indecisive about purchases. A few years ago, we bought a TV in one afternoon.

But this buying experience is generating more of a paralyzed feeling. My husband (let’s call him Tom, for the sake of simplicity) is willing to pay the early termination fee (ETF) at T-Mobile USA, even though it’s the carrier that offers the most Android choices. The coverage where he needs it most often is less than stellar, so getting a G1 or myTouch 3G is out of the question.

Well, it wouldn’t have to be out of the question necessarily. Earlier, I thought maybe getting a newer device – he currently has an older feature phone – might help on the performance issue; i.e., a better RF experience in the handset might improve his call quality. But I no longer think that’s worth pursuing. Even if a 3G smartphone has a better antenna or offers some performance advantages, it’s probably not enough to warrant buying one just to see how well this theory works. Anyway, that’s where we’re at on that right now.

This sent us looking at the Motorola Droid or Droid Eris by HTC at Verizon Wireless, but over the life of a two-year contract, the better deal appears to be with Sprint. Of course, Tom vows to take the trial period very seriously and make sure everything works to his satisfaction on the Sprint network before making another two-year commitment.

After searching the Web, looking at devices and checking out AndroidForums.com and other forums, Tom figures he can be happy with an HTC Hero or Samsung Moment. Actually, at last check, he’s leaning toward the Moment for the keyboard, and he doesn’t much care about the camera. But here’s the rub. Sprint put out a tweet saying the Android 2.0 is coming to the Hero and Moment – but not until roughly the first half of 2010, which could be as early as January or as late as June. 
We could still buy a Moment and just get the 2.0 update when it comes. But then came these reports, rumors and innuendo about a Google GSM phone that could be unlocked. It was enough to make me think twice about running out and signing a contract with another carrier. Some reports tie the Nexus One to T-Mobile for support, in which case, it’s probably not worth waiting for because of our coverage issues. Decisions, decisions.

A lot of people talk about the fragmentation around Android and the challenges that developers face in writing their apps for the various versions. But a somewhat related thing happens to people who want the latest and greatest in Android. You can be fairly sure another one is coming around the corner. Will it be a better one to meet your needs? Of course, this could go on forever, and you could say the same thing about any phone - Android or other. There's always something new to consider, although those in the iPhone camp would seem to have more certainty about when to expect the next version. On the other hand, they don't get to choose which carrier they want.

It’s great to have choices. It just complicates matters when rumors suggest there might be something in January worth considering. In our case, we weren’t planning to get a Droid over the holidays, but at least some portion of the buying public/techies probably delayed a Droid purchase because they heard about the Nexus. I don’t know how much of a dent it will make in Droid sales. Maybe not a significant one, but even if it turns out to be small, you have to wonder what would have happened if Google didn’t distribute those phones to its employees on Dec. 11 and what would have happened if it clarified exactly what it’s up to.

Maybe over the holidays, we’ll bite the bullet and get the Moment. Or if we stay in limbo-land for about five or six more months, the ETF will be non-existent.