[mchristoff]

I make a living off of Android, and I don't think fragmentation is overblown. Sure, you can make the argument that the PC world has dealt with different screen sizes and hardware specs for a long time, but at least MS was the sole vendor of Windows.

As Android developer you have to deal with myriad of manufacturer and community developed permutations of the OS - TouchWiz, Sense, Cyanogenmod, MIUI to name a few. If you make a widget app like us, you not only have to deal with HTC, Samsung, etc's launcher you have to deal with 3rd party launchers too - ADW, Apex, Launcher Pro, GO, etc.

How about when HTC decides to break multitasking in favor of better battery life?

http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/16/3024854/htc-one-x-multitas...

Personally, I think it's a bit of a double edged sword. A lot of the issues that make Android hard to develop good apps for make it a fun platform, ie the ability to choose whatever launcher or rom you want. That said, you're kidding yourself if you think fragmentation is not a major issue.