I have previously written how my current personal choice of phone (the G1) was determined more due to sync with existing Google services than the hardware itself.

According to Forbes, Samsung, or more specifically their customers (network operators) have different ideas…

“Samsung also wanted to put its own spin on Android. Hong drew a distinction between devices built on the Android platform and “Google Experience” devices, which not only use Android but are also Google-centric, packed with the search giant’s own applications. “Our commitment is more to the Android phone than the Google Experience device,” Hong said.”

It will be ominous if the next batch of Android devices has great hardware but all the Google-centric applications are missing. One workaround might be if Google were to publish any missing Google applications on the Android market so that people who don’t want the carrier-provided solutions on the phone can install these for themselves.