Google's goal sounds very similar to Microsoft's goal.
True, and that may be in part due to the fact that Android targeted WinMo phones as their default architecture, in the same way that Linux targeted IBM-compatible PCs as their default architecture. It was initially conceived of as an alternative OS for the platform you already had. Whether this is philosophical, or because Google just didn't (initially) want to design a reference platform, I don't know.
For the PDA/phone market, it didn't work for Microsoft.
Yeah, but how much of that was due to their software being total crap in a market where they didn't already have a virtual monopoly?
Actually, I don't know how we got off on this track: Android vs. iPhone. I have zero problem with the iPhone platform. It's not even "not for me"; Android is merely "for me" more.
I still think the iPad is stupid, even if I do understand its appeal to those who don't want anything more than what an iPhone can do, except they'd like it bigger. Maybe I underestimate the number of people who are fed up with keeping their underutilized computer running and want something that "just works". I have the suspicion that most of its sales are as a toy, and those people who really want to use it might get frustrated with what it can't do, especially considering its (both one-time and recurring) cost. Time will tell.