Whats the worst thing that could happen? All the manufactures drop Android? Good, then we will get an official, not messed with, Android phone directly from Google. I see only good in this.
A more likely worst-case is that we get more companies supporting alternative OSes, marketshare evens out a bit from second place on down, and generally the world keeps on turning. If people like Android now, people won't stop liking it because Google is now making it themselves. Even in a worse-case scenario.
If the Google Glasses are successful, that sort of loyalty to Google will only increase, like it did for Apple with the iPhone, then with the iPad, and so on.
I think this whole Apple Cult thing is pretty overblown. Sure there may be a noisy minority who give that impression but I sure don't know any. I have an iPhone because I considered it the best choice but I'm hardly a raving iPhone zealot. I hate the closed ecosystem too, and resent that I have to chose between a high quality user experience (by my taste) and a more free environment.
I don't really know anyone who fits into the stereotype of an unconditional raving iPhone fan, and this amongst a social circle which is basically exclusively iPhone.
This has almost nothing to do with your point, just that there are rabid fans for everything you could think of.
If Windows Phone wasn't locked down I might give it a try, but until there's an alternative phone that's at least as open as Android I'm not moving.
Among my less technical friends, Android and iPhone devices are more or less equal.
Example: iPhone 4s 16gb AT&T - $150 subsidized HTC One X AT&T - $200 subsidized
Sure, there are cheaper Android phones, but there are also cheaper iPhones (3gs/4).
Believe it or not, there are real Android fans. I used to be one, not so much anymore. The carriers and manufacturers have ruined it with their delayed updates, bloatware, and modifications to the UI.
If Apple raised the iPhone screen to at least 4", I would consider getting one. If Microsoft released a WP7 device with good specs, I would get that. But at the moment, Android has the best balance of hardware and software.
I understand where you're coming from, and I'm not denying the fact that Android offers a wider range of devices in different price ranges. I just don't like this concept that many people seem to have stuck in their heads: iPhone = expensive. Android = cheap. All of the high-end phones are expensive, and high-end phones are what we should compare when talking about Android vs iOS because they are in the same price range.
So yes, there most definitely are Android fans out there, but they are most likely using a high-end Android device and not one of the cheap handsets that you couldn't pay me to use.
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> I see only good in this.
This makes zero logical sense.
It's almost impossible that would happen, but I'm just saying I wouldn't miss them if they left Android. If they think they can just replace Android with Tizen or whatever, and people will follow them, they are very wrong. Google would just get most of the business then with Motorola, and it would get a lot closer to Apple's profits.
Closing the business to Motorola would simply make it trivial for Apple to walk all over them.