I'm not thinking of the apps, so much as how 'open' the basic operation of the phone is for users who want to hack it around. I'm struck by this engadget story http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/02/motorola-milestone-does-what-droidont/ where they point out that a Euro version of the Droid has multitouch, which is missing in the US, perhaps because of a patent situation with Apple. When I first heard of Android I was attracted by the idea of a totally programmable phone, which might allow the user to implement thing the carrier doesn't necessarily offer - like call blocking, for example, or custom behavior in response to incoming emails from various people. As things are, it seems like apps float on top of a more closed-off level of firmware.Any Android developers out there care to share their insights?