[cpeterso]

Google also does not want device manufacturers to ship pre-release versions of Android just to be first to market. This was apparently a problem with Froyo or Gingerbread.

Google could hold back the sexy UI and application changes and just develop the kernel and foundation libraries in the open. But some of their hardware partners are very secretive and do not want any details leaked about the capabilities of their new hardware that may be revealed in device drivers.

[ajross]

Those are certainly some of the reasons, yes. But my point was more that Google is doing a poor job of managing the conflict between the business interests of its hardware partners and the health of the Android Open Source Project. Basically, AOSP isn't a "project" anymore (if it ever was), and that's sad.

And it's not like this is an impossibility. Red Hat manages to sell RHEL licenses without killing Fedora, for example.