I think the fragmentation issue has bigger impacts in software consumption, rather than software production. The fragmentation is really more of a symptom than

I think the fragmentation issue has bigger impacts in software consumption, rather than software production. The fragmentation is really more of a symptom than the problem. That problem is disparate hardware as a result of how device manufacturers compete with each other. Instead of adding any value with useful features (NOTE: the additional battery drain of 4G and lessened security of using NFC are not features), they decide to manufacture devices using cut-rate hardware. The hardware failure rate of Android powered devices is staggering when compared to iOS devices. This hurts the user and it hurts the platform. The user is left with a bad taste in their mouth, which they attribute to "Android's fragmentation problem". Now, I'm not the biggest Apple fan and I love the philosophy behind Android, but I find the crappy hardware a big enough of a pain to deal with that I would rather use a device that's part of a more controlled ecosystem.