Openness has always been Android’s beauty and its curse. Google’s mobile operating system is available to any manufacturer that wants a slice, meaning you see it everywhere! It’s also historically been a place for hardware specialists and carriers to flex their software muscles, leading to custom alterations – skins – that often leave an elegant smartphone solution ugly, unusable, or both.
Only possible in today’s crazy world: Chinese OEMs who planned to steal Blu-ray marketshare with sub-$US200 players are being bloodied by name brands like Sony and Samsung selling their players at that price.
