fatboytyler :
You also have to think that Google is finally putting a Vanilla firmware on a phone. No bloatware provided by the company of the phone. So with a Quad-Core running 2GB of ram it'll be significantly better than most phones on the market without any root-level customization (so the end user won't NEED a root to speed their phone up if they don't want it). For my purposes it is better than most, despite no SD card slot. I am just speaking my opinion/preference here.
So if you don't want to use a SD card, having the SD slot there doesn't hurt you in anyway, you merely leave it blank. But up till now, you haven't been arguing that is your own personal preference, you've said there is no purpose to one which is a blanket statement trying to say no one needs one.
No, not everyone will mind not having an SD slot available. However, the fact that there is not one WILL cost them sales. I can say this for a fact because I was planning on buying it as long as it had one and a removable battery and because it has no SD slot, I am for sure not buying one. I know I am not alone in this view.
Limiting people's options is always a bad thing for sales. Google should stop emulating Apple this way. It was the iPhone that made sealed batteries and no SD slots popular, and no Android phone should follow the iPhone in that manner.