[kelnos]

> Can't we just encourage free market dynamics?

The free market is a myth. We have a smartphone OS duopoly, and neither one needs to provide what customers actually want in order to be successful.

A new company entering this market will have essentally no chance of being successful.

We don't have a healthy, competitive market here. If I want to buy a new couch, I have hundreds of manufacturers to choose from, with a wide variety of styles and colors. I can pretty much find my perfect couch, given enough research. And if for some reason I can't, I can hire someone to make me a fully custom couch.

Obviously furniture and phone OSes are not the same thing, and it isn't feasible to expect there would be a market for hundreds of different phone OSes. But the principle is the same.