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Comment by MichaelGG | Hacker News Reader

They don't need to close the source, just figure out some way to indicate to buyers that if they buy an Android phone, they're guaranteed to have a certain experience.

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Google does require certain things in order for it to get the Google branding. Currently this seems to be limited to including the core Google applications, but if google deems the rise of handset-specific frontends to be an issue perhaps they could expand the license requirements?

I, for one, don't see the proliferation of Motoblur/SamsungSense/HTC-Whatever to be a negative thing. It is an additional factor that consumers can use to differentiate between phones. One reason I own a DroidX is the great hardware, but another reason is I think the moto skin adds a lot in certain areas (it's calendar widget, for example).

In other words: let the market decide.

I'm sad to see that the market has apparently decided against Google's own offering. The prospects of a Google-controlled, Android reference phone available to all consumers on all networks was just plain nifty.

Having said that, I have several family members with HTC, "Sensified" Droid Incredibles, and it doesn't seem to be that bad. (Then again, there is no NASCAR app either...)

This seems like a much more balanced, nuance view of the scenario-- note that it is vastly different from "Android is closed because its open" tone present in the article-- or the insistence by some (see comment below) that providers not have access to the Android source.

EDIT: Some clarification and grammatical fixes.

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