The answer is – hardly yes. As much as Google would like to argue against it, the Nexus phone looks too much as an IPhone to be so different.
It is true, Nexus has what IPhone does not have – an open platform operating software (the famous Android revamped), the possibility to write your own software applications if you like, the fact that it comes unlocked. But if you really want an IPhone, you can unlock it one way or another, everybody knows this. And Apple takes advantage of this in order to justify its outrageously high prices for its mobile handsets. Yes, Google is honest in this respect. You do not pay indirectly for the mobile phone via your mobile phone subscription. By the wway, did you know that the mobile phone operators (AT&T, Orange etc) which enter into agreements with Apple pay 10% of the subscription fees to the computer hardware producer?
On the other hand, Google has tried its hand with open source applications quite extensively. And most of the desirable applications from IPhone are Google or internet related – email services, google maps, weather reports, open office calendars and notes etc. So why not? Maybe the new Nexus mobile phone will touch the G spot of the consumers. Or maybe not. Since most of the applications for Apple are already everything one might desire from a mobile phone, why would those programmers bother to re-write tehm for Nexus? I am not sure they will do it, unless Nexus will be very lucrative for them. Which does not seem to be, since there is hardly a chance to monetize your applications (Apple has the famous online store…). But again maybe Google has some “freebie magic” in its sleeves. Remains to be seen though…