Shuttleworth's interview about how they are going to keep the long term future of Ubuntu's phone OS from fragmenting while still allowing complete manufacturer customization was a really disappointing string of non-answers. I am really confused about how this is going to shape up. Maybe this will set a precendent for a Nexus-style standard device with the blessing of Canonical itself.
The general message is this: you don't put a new UI over the top, you add your own services (videos displayed, music store, books, mags, etc, etc). There is a small amount of leg room for making minor UI tweaks such as the welcome screen layout, general colour scheme, etc - but that's it.
