While vertical integration certainly helps controlling costs and giving flexibility in design, the reality is that the industry has pretty much settled on a singular design in the form of a large flat slab with the latest ARM CPU design, the year's hi-density display of choice, capacitive touchscreen, buttons and ports on the edges, and sensors at the top front and back. There's very little design left to innovate which is why Samsung has resorted to gimmicky and poorly implemented features in it's latest flagship device.
Companies like Qualcomm and Broadcom are trying to get their chips into popular hardware and as a result they offer reference platforms similar to what AMD and nVidia do in the GPU reference designs. The reference platforms are tight and it's very easy for an ODM to take a reference platform, plug in the missing pieces, slap it in a myriad of custom injection molded cases and produce a high quality device.
The primary differentiators these days are the quality of the added components (e.g. LCD, Flash, Camera modules) being attached to the reference design. Typically you pay the Apple or Samsung tax to ensure you're getting a certain level of quality.
While Google doesn't have the vertical infrastructure of Apple or Samsung, they partner with ODMs for their Nexus line using quality components and their software to make comparable devices a a cheaper price point. However since they are at the mercy of the ODM they don't have ultimate control over the price.
This company is doing something very similar to Google but they control the hardware and are relying on Cyanogen Mod's features and appeal to make up for their lack of software prowess.
Personally I think this type of relationship is very promising.
Companies like Qualcomm and Broadcom are trying to get their chips into popular hardware and as a result they offer reference platforms similar to what AMD and nVidia do in the GPU reference designs. The reference platforms are tight and it's very easy for an ODM to take a reference platform, plug in the missing pieces, slap it in a myriad of custom injection molded cases and produce a high quality device.
The primary differentiators these days are the quality of the added components (e.g. LCD, Flash, Camera modules) being attached to the reference design. Typically you pay the Apple or Samsung tax to ensure you're getting a certain level of quality.
While Google doesn't have the vertical infrastructure of Apple or Samsung, they partner with ODMs for their Nexus line using quality components and their software to make comparable devices a a cheaper price point. However since they are at the mercy of the ODM they don't have ultimate control over the price.
This company is doing something very similar to Google but they control the hardware and are relying on Cyanogen Mod's features and appeal to make up for their lack of software prowess.
Personally I think this type of relationship is very promising.