Yep. The real tragedy of fragmentation is that Android still lacks any kind of brand power - they're the phone equivalent of yesterday's faceless beige windows towers. If Microsoft actually ship this in 2012, and have someone mildly competent in marketing, I wouldn't be surprised to see most American users once again choosing between MS and Apple.
I'm not really sure whether it's true or not that Android doesn't have brand power. I mean, it's not as strong as "iPhone", certainly, and I don't have any specs to show, but I sure notice "Android!" on signs in front of cellular shops a lot... and there's a giant green Android robot balloon on the top of a little wireless shop just down the road. Even my non-techie friends say things like "Is that an iPhone or a Droid [sic]?"...
It seems to me, Android phones focus much more on the brand of the device than the platform it is running...
"Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch"
Ads might mention mention Android but much more verbiage is about the device features and the like.
iPhone doesn't need this. RIM really didn't need this.
Windows Phone adds I have heard, Nokias are now known for running Windows Phone, I haven't heard many commercials for other device manufacturers. But, for me, I know it is an Android phone when I hear the ridiculous names.
That's not a tragedy for Google, that's their game plan. They want their apps and services on every "faceless beige box" in the world. The market for cheap generic consumer electronics is not going away.
Yeah, but I don't think it would be a small loss for Android to fall from dominance in medium to high end phones in Google's best markets. In theory, Android gives them at least some control in a category with important implications for every part of their business (mobile). I doubt they're too concerned about Bing, but if WP8 takes off, it gives MS room to make inroads in search, and for Apple and Microsoft to interfere with search queries with tools like Siri...
