Microsoft did this with WinMo 6.5 & look what happened. This differentiation is what makes the phone dependable on the manufacturer to release an update at which people cry that the manufacturer is releasing updates slowly or not releasing at all.
Please don't compare winmo to android. winmo failed due to lack of innovation from MS. Also, it's failure is more due to the word-of-mouth 'windows on mobile too? no. i am using windows everywhere and I don't want it on my mobile' and 'windows phone? are you kidding. it sucks'. Even those who never touched winmo say that it's junk when they have no f'ing idea how the homescreen looks like.
For Android, Google is doing lot lot better when compared to MS. THey are listening to users, bringing in new features with every release, optimizing UI. And thanks to the 'open' nature, everyone is jumping onto the ship. phones, pmps, tvs, tablets, etc etc. we even see that some are putting android UI for MFDs. Forget about fragmentation, forget about giving too much freedom. It's acutally working really well and it's going everywhere.
Do you know that with Android 3.0, Google is also going with a unified UI & no more vendor specific customization in UI.
and google straightaway denied that. Instead they are going futher ahead and doing this: Google provides a look at Android's highly customized future with App Inventor | Web Apps News - Betanews
Android is the new kid in the block like once iOS was so everyone is going with it. Besides, the world depends a lot on google services now which are best supported in Android due to which vendors are coming with Android Phones. If WinMo 7 was bad, why do u think other then Motorola all other vendors making Android phones are also making WinMo 7 phones.
I don't think vendors are stupid that they go after every new OS. The first two years, the innovation was largely driven by HTC. And until HTC came out with SenseUI 2.0 and till the Droids came out, many actually ignored Android and just take a look at the market since phones like Legend and Droid came out. Also, the release of 2.1 was the 'kick' that Android needed. It made the OS fast, stable, lot more feature, made use of modern hardware.
WinPho 7's success relies on zune, xbox live, live, skydrive, bing (navigation) services which are internet driven. Please correct me if I am wrong here. Every modern smartphone OS is looking to tame the internet. And what's wrong in using these services. My friend who rarely used internet service on his earlier phone is now making full use of google services (Samsung Galaxy S). I don't see that as a -ve. Instead, it is a +ve thing where you need not bloat the OS with all that data or full blown apps that are sitting on the cloud right now. One great example would be Google Docs. No need for me to pay for or load an office application. I can connect to docs site and add doc or ppt and later download the same or share online for others. And trust me, it's damn easy to use. Yes it's limited in functionality but is better than the tiny document editors that are availble on phones.
Android will rock a lot when used with Chrome OS as Google services depend on internet. This eats battery & creates the need to rely on data services which is not always practical. You are using GPRS here but that is not always the case. Google wants you to do everything in the cloud which may sound cool but in reality it is not practical . Even Apple & Microsoft know it & they make devices whose features are extended when used with cloud services, not depending on them to work.
Wake up. It's already rocking and why do you want to use it with Chrome OS. I never synced my Legend to my PC. Heck, I never actually used HTC Sync till now. When there are loads of apps that can sync my content to the cloud and keep it safe there, why should I worry about a bloatware on PC. Even if one thinks that cloud is not safe, the same content can be stored on storage as backup files and can be copied to PC through USB. The moment I started using a smartphone to it's full potential, I stopped worrying about battery. Yes, I do charge my phone everyday because I connect to the internet a lot. But guess what, I can live without internet on Android or Maemo. That gives heck lot of battery life. So, it's not at all an issue here.
And am saying this again. Google wants people to move to cloud but they are not armtwisting everyone. Let's take Android for example.
1. contacts: store contacts on phone instead of storing on google account
2. home screens: remove the widgets that use internet and replace them with widgets like music player, contact management, icons etc.
3. copy any required data through PC. And guess what, one can do it without loading apps like Zune client or itunes. And it is totally OS independant. No need to search for a PC that is compatible with zune client, wait for long time to download and install zune/itunes and then start copying only to find that some of the files are not compatible with the s/w and hence copy denied. Heck! I would rather embrace cloud over this kind of restriction.
4. use data connection only if you need to check mails or chat with someone.
Trust me, Android will work as offline OS but it is not meant for that. It is meant to give the user total control on what he/she wants to do with the OS. And that is why it is gaining popularity.
Google isnt dumb enough to restrict customizations on their android phones. With gingerbread, they will bring forth a new concept where people would be allowed to choose between a vanilla OS or with the customizations installed. The options would be on board. The reason Android works is the options it presents to the consumer to fulfill his needs.
Btw, Win 6.5 was highly customizable as shown by HTC who peeled off the skin to put forth its sense UI and Sammy its touchwiz. Here, Microsoft is trying to go the iphone way, which, is only possible if you have steve jobs at the helm.
exactly. iPhone is driven by cult following which MS lacks. How many of you guys will pay 60k to buy winpho device.
What MS should've done is take the weak areas of iphone that are criticized by users and give a mindblowing experience in those areas. They did it in only one area (homescreen). But in the end, they made it look like another iOS with fancy tiles.
. Run 5 flash videos at a time and then let us sit & talk! 
