I've never been a fan of the Nexus product line, so hopefully a company with a better design ascetic. The HTC/Samsung/LG triumvirate clearly focuses on a market saturation instead of flagship products. Frankly, I'm a bit shocked that none of the other manufacturers have tried shifting focus to less, but much better handsets.
RIM is trying it now though, so I guess we'll see how that works out for them.
I really liked the previous Nexus phones with the curved glass. The slight curve feels good in the hand. It also solves the problem of placing the phone face down and getting scratches on the screen without using a raised bezel.
Also, why would these companies abandon their currently successful business model? They know it works for them. I am sure they will all start pumping more resources into building a 'premium' brand like Samsung is doing with Galaxy.
RIM is trying it now though, so I guess we'll see how that works out for them.