Currently, most handset vendors make tweaks to the Android OS for their handsets, which means they have to make those same modifications to every OS upgrade deployed - leading to long delays in upgrades being available.
The lead developer, Google's Jean-Baptiste Queru wrote a note on the developer forum that he was kicking off an experiment, based on the Sony Ericsson Xperia S, which he noted was a powerful smartphone from a supplier that has supported the aims of the AOSP project.
The device was also selected because it comes with an "unlockable bootloader" which typically makes it harder to deploy unauthorised versions of the Android OS onto the handset.
It has been noted that if successful, and supported by more handset vendors, it could see a move to a more uniform version of the Android OS on handsets.
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