. However the hardware has generally (I think the Nexus One is an exception) been a disappointment.
Are you kidding me??? The N4 had damn impressive specs at the time it came out and was about as highend as you could get. It came with 2gb if ram, S4pro, IPS 720p display, a decent camera, decent battery life, and all for $350. Remember this phone has been out for almost a year now so it is not all that highend now... but when it came out it was about as highend as you could get.
Now on that note.... I will likely be skipping the N5 because I feel the N4 is still a pretty good phone and serves my needs well enough and don't see the need to buy a new phone