> The only reason they're a bit behind the times is because hardware manufacturers are loath to open up their specifications to open source implementers. Not e

> The only reason they're a bit behind the times is because hardware manufacturers are loath to open up their specifications to open source implementers. Not entirely true. The mobile hardware ecosystem is vastly more diverse than the PC ecosystem. For starters, there was never any cloneable, de facto standard (a la IBM) thus everyone started from divergent designs. Add in the limitations that PCs never had to deal with (miniaturization, power, cellular radio integration) and you rapidly get each company integrating things as quickly as possible so they can get a product to market. And honestly, there's not much reason support clean code underneath the hood. 99% of your customers will never flash a custom ROM, much less change the OS. If your stuff works, and you've got the time for a rewrite for the next model, full steam ahead with business as usual.