EDIT : wanted to update my message but deleted it!pasting it here :
the value of Android,for most people, is in Google services... not in Linux.People dont care what os android is running,the fact that it is Linux is irrelevant for them,(but not for google).
> copy all the APIs and create an independent alternative that lets you build apps that use features from Play Services, without tying your app to Google. Ideally one can then choose what to do from just stubbing them out, filling them with 3rd party alternatives, or providing custom implementations.
And who's going to copy all that,for you,for free?
> I would think a nice collaboration between Amazon, Microsoft, some Chinese players and maybe even Yahoo could do quite a nice job of this.
And now you want to depend on Amazon and Microsoft and Yahoo,is that your vision of independence? And why Amazon or Microsoft would do that when they are pushing for their own closed mobile plateform?
Your message is basically "someone do something",not understanding what the success of the plateform is about : Google Services.And then you are calling to players that are even worse offenders than Google when it comes to closed plateforms. What you say makes no sense.
You cant run all the services Google provides for free , with no string attached ,it cannot work. And that's why mobile oses that dont provide these kind of services will flop,all of them,because people now feel entitled to get them for free.