it seems there are enough independent developers out there who have put out some good apps that hasn't required much money. i don't see how money would be a big issue here.
Well lets see, you didn't give examples of small device-function apps or something for lack of a better word 'simple'. You listed ESPN and DirectTV and hinted/directed at larger companies offering far more service. That means in addition to developing the program/app they have to make sure the have the infrastructure to support and handle the users. That means 1) more servers which means more licenses for all the software running on it; 2) more people to handle those servers and services now offered (tech support, debugging ect); 3) likely more bandwidth to handle the traffic (contrary to major belief even large companies don't have unlimited bandwidth and GOOD IT departments balance between cost and benefit to their utilize their need).
That's just the first (big) three. There are dozens of other reasons for them to be slow, and possibly even weary of the Android OS. Just because we love the product doesn't mean a) it will survive or b) can get enough ROI for companies to justify the expense.
As to the small developers their size is one reason they can afford to support and develop for the OS. They don't, in most cases have to justify their decisions to a board of trusties OR, more importantly to shareholders. In addition they don't have to worry about the infrastructure expenditures of the above companies and they can 'grow' with their products as they gain sales whereas the large companies must already have it in place before releasing the app. Also it's not really 'easy' or simple even for those developers you hint at. If you look at ANY program on the market there are people who can't get the product to work because there are too many versions of the OS and too many device that aren't 'similar' enough to allow for easy porting of apps. This is acceptable to most small developers but to the big guys that are in fierce battles with their competition they can't afford these small errors (e.g. a bad app from DirectTV might be that final straw that forces the customer to the competition, yes you will argue the reverse but people will NOT join DirectTV just for that, least not enough to justify the expense).
If and when Google can prove that they will continue to increase their market share to an acceptable level AND address the issues regarding numerous devices and OS versions then the large companies will look at them. Having these phones on a 'real' network like Verizon and (possibly with the Nexus) AT&T is the first step. But they have a LONGGGGGGG way to go.
