No Mir by default in Ubuntu 13.10

yes.. well, I actually worked for an SoC vendor at the time android was starting, so maybe had a bit of a different perspective. But seems to me like their success was:
(a) somewhat neutral ground (ie. not associated with one or small # of handset makers or carriers), with a big enough backer that all the carriers and handset makers pay attention
(b) get something out there... doesn't matter that it really sucks in the beginning, google is big enough to catch developer interest to start getting app ecosystem going
(c) rinse, repeat until you have something decent

But don't underestimate the google power.. a lot of people inside the industry were pretty much assuming android would be the next big thing back when android was in diapers and way inferior on a technical level compared to alternatives like maemo/meego.