My point precisely. No Licensing, and in HTC's case, they're not paying twice for android; once for the OS and then a second time to MS for the patent fee.

@ gerbick

The handset that ol' matey was waving around looked like the AAVA unit. nothing new there, other than the fact that there's been Meego development for this handset as long as there has been for the N900.
I also believe it goes to my point about licensing. Ultimately, hardware vendors are going to get fed up with paying licensing costs in an increasingly competitive market where the margins are getting thinner and thinner. add to this additional fees to 3rd parties (ala the MS - android patent infringement deal) and it all eats into the bottom line.
Companies like HTC differentiate themselves through their proprietory UX overlays, and it makes good business sense to offer the same visual experience to a customer if the base OS is stable and doesn't cost a cent.
Usually if companies talk publicly like this, they're already in negotiations/discussions.
for me, i'd be happy to buy a HTC device if it was based on wither Meego or WebOS