[fluidcruft]

I actually don't think these high-level things are the fragmentation that matter. The fragmentation that causes delays are based on adapting the code to hardware. Things like releasing a phone with an 8MP camera, 720p recording and HDMI out running eclair and then having to rewrite that support the "AOSP-way" when froyo and gingerbread and ics finally add support for the same features to AOSP. That's the part of the "skin" that's the problem not things like widgets and more purely-software things. The challenge is that the market advances hardware faster than Google makes code available. The only way this can be resolved is if AOSP is developed in the open rather than behind closed doors. AOSP has a very strong case of NIH syndrome--but mostly because its impossible for them to share what the Nexus team is up to. Alternatively everyone could just build phones only based on Nexus chipsets and features, (but that's not possible either since the Nexus hardware is also kept under wraps during development and building new phones based on last years model isn't going to work in the market).