It is indeed very impressive. The shitiest smartphone on the market today is still an absolute technical wonder. Google's goal with Android has always been to

It is indeed very impressive. The shitiest smartphone on the market today is still an absolute technical wonder. Google's goal with Android has always been to commoditize smartphones. It would probably have happened either way (even high end smartphones are heavily subsidized after all) but maybe not that fast. Motorola has been very good at embracing this. Their Moto G is by no mean perfect, but it is an excellent phone at an affordable price. The 'race to bottom' is often decried in our era obsessed with profits and money, but bringing this kind of first grade technology to anyone on the planet is a pretty good goal. I am very excited by what Android One will be able to bring. It is time for this kind of project : it is now possible to build good smartphones at low prices. Even as a mobile developer, phone launchs are pretty boring. There has not been a major breakthrough in quite some time and I suspect that they are going to be increasingly rare.