Today PCMag reports that HTC is developing a mobile OS for China. In the recent past we’ve heard that Samsung wants to develop an OS too. This makes me wonder what’s wrong with Android.

Android is so customizable that people are only moaning and groaning about the limitations put on the system by both the handset makers and the carriers. How is this Google’s fault?

Sometimes normal Android services are disabled in favor of more locked-in services run by the carriers. In some instances, Bing has replaced Google search. The GUI also differs widely.

So now Samsung and HTC are considering going it alone. Why? They can get creative with the open Android OS already. And I should mention that even though HTC says it only wants to develop a Chinese OS, I can assure you this will lead to a completely new OS for other markets.

The Android name is what helps to sell phones and these companies are complete idiots if they can’t understand this marketing concept. If Nokia had gone with Android, it would still be a major player. So if you can customize the Android OS and ride the Google wave, why would you want to build an operating system from scratch? Just make something with the Android platform and call it whatever you want. Claim it’s “Powered by Android!” and you are gold.

Going it alone in order to circumvent the complaints is a bad idea. People will grumble no matter what. And I have used phones that are stuck with earlier versions of Android and see no problems at all. It works, why fix it?

Samsung has not become the number one handset maker despite Android, but because of it. So why does it make its phones resemble the iPhone? Does that really help? What is the point of trying to trick the users? This has always baffled me. It makes the company look like a dirt bag.

Complaints would likely stem from both the handset makers and the carriers who disabled normal Android functionality, which in itself is perplexing. Maybe carriers don’t make enough money so they have to lock users into their stores and services to gouge them more. Or maybe there is a fear Google will limit the highly customizable nature of the Android OS. When given the choice, most users prefer the stock GUI found on the Nexus phones. Are they worried that Google will actually lock down the UI?

It boils down to being a control freak. Samsung, HTC, and the others make a lot of money selling handsets. If they stopped overly customizing the Android GUI I bet sales wouldn’t change. Apparently they do not see it that way and want to try their own hand. Good luck with that.