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I think this damages the Android brand.In my opinion, it strengthens it. This is precisely why I love Android and not iOS or Windows Phone. Android being open-source, means forks are possible. It also means that if Google's stewardship goes awfully awry, then a community or some company can take over their leadership, so Google has to play a lot nicer than other companies, as the lock-in they achieved is weaker.
Amazon forking Android is a great thing. People don't view Amazon's devices as being Androids (except us). It also enabled them to deliver cool devices for cheap in a small amount of time. If it weren't for Android, Amazon would've had to come up with their own proprietary OS, completely incompatible with everything else. Who wouldn't prefer a forked Android, rather than yet another half-baked proprietary OS? Amazon forking Android is THE proof that Android is an open platform, because that's what openness allows one to do.
And the way that Google has been consolidating functionality into Play Services makes me question their stewardship of the platform. Android has been advertised and sold as an open platform. In my country, I remember commercials for Android phones mentioning the word "open-source". My freakin taxi driver asked me about it.
Android has been sold to everybody as being an open platform, from day 1. Openness is a doubly-edged sword, but on the whole I think it's worth it. If you don't like it, then you can take your pick from the competition.
> Samsung is making most of the profits from Android
So what's the problem? They make most of the profits because (a) they are big and have a big distribution network and (b) they have been making the best Androids.
For both customers and developers, it's actually irrelevant whom gets the most profits. People used to say that Apple makes more profits than the whole Android industry combined, therefore Android is not relevant. But it doesn't matter, because (a) the pie is freakishly big and growing and you don't have to be number one and (b) things change fast, especially because phones have a short life, much shorter than PCs.
> Maybe they should do Plan B with Ubuntu Touch and/or Firefox OS
Judging by Nokia's past history, they have a tendency to make their own thing. Therefore, if they used Ubuntu Touch or Firefox OS, they would fork those too. I'm rooting for Firefox OS, therefore I don't wish for Nokia's hands on it.