As we get closer and closer to this holiday season, the expectation for upcoming devices just keeps getting bigger and bigger. After all, it’s the holiday season, where the giving starts. And with so many awesome smartphones coming down the pipeline, why wouldn’t you be excited? If you’re a fan of the Nexus lineage from Google, then you’re probably even more excited to keep hearing that the next member to the family is rumored to be landing sometime this holiday season; and with the new batch of rumors suggesting it has some pretty impressive specifications tucked under the hood, there’s even more to be anticipating. But, should 4G be one of those things that the next Nexus focuses on?

I think in today’s market, with the wireless carriers pushing 4G as hard as they are, there’s not a real big surprise to hear that the next Nexus device will have 4G-connectivity. After all, as 4G spreads over the United States more and more people want it, so why wouldn’t the next manufacturer of the Nexus device want to put the technology under the hood? I think the problem comes in the fact that, if this device is indeed real and it will indeed have 4G capabilities, limiting the handset to one specific carrier isn’t going to go over all that well.

This argument isn’t based on the launch of previous Nexus devices; this is just entirely focused on the current market, and the way that the general consumer wants to get their hands on the next best, high-end device. The Nexus S from Samsung, the last entry in the Nexus lineage, did make it to multiple carriers, but it took some time. I don’t think the next Nexus handset should be limited to one carrier, especially if the specifications for the device turn out to be true.

For Google, there are a lot of high-end devices running the Android platform. Each major manufacturer out there has at least one device that they consider their flagship device, even if it’s just for a few months. But the Nexus line is still one of those beacons that stands out amongst the rest, because it’s the way that Google showcases new features, outstanding hardware, and a brand new, unchanged (by proprietary software) mobile software. With that in mind, I think the Nexus devices should be launched for at least every major wireless carrier in the United States. The rumor suggests that the Nexus S 4G will be an AT&T-specific handset, launched to promote AT&T’s usage of LTE technology.

It makes sense for AT&T, of course, to launch a high-end device like the Nexus S 4G to promote their move into LTE 4G connectivity. But I think for Google, and especially with the exposure that Google will obviously want for their next version of Android (Ice Cream Sandwich), launching the Nexus S 4G on more than one carrier – at the same time – would be a critical and prosperous move for the company.

But, AT&T could be very willing to shell out whatever it takes to get their exclusivity rights to this device, even if it’s just for a short time, or it’s a hold on that particular 4G capability. As of right now all of this is just a big rumor, so we’re left out in the dark for most of it. Hopefully here in the next few weeks, or months if we have to wait, we’ll find out more about the next Nexus device, and we’ll start to get a clearer picture as to what Google’s plan is for the upcoming handset.

Do you think Google should launch the next Nexus S device for one specific wireless carrier? Or should they share the glory with the other carriers, and therefore to more customers? Let me know in the comments below what you think.