I've always been a fan of Sony, as overrated or overpriced as other say, but the point is, they build quality products, imo. Heck I'm typing on my Sony Vaio All-in-one right now that's lasted me a good 6 years so far and not so much as a hiccup.
If the next Nexus is being made by Sony, I'll definitely take a look at it. I wasn't too big a fan of the Sony Ericcson devices, but since they dropped the Ericcson part, their devices have been darn good looking and had some good reviews/feedback to boot.
And as Chevy said, yup it is night and day with these new radios, even in the area I live in which is a strong 4g area.