I thought it was an interesting idea.
Perhaps for a Market that Apple has no interest in competing.
Say niche market medical devices or purpose built devices for manufacturing.
The article speculated that it was phone manufacturer(s), but could well be something else.
I wouldn't equate this mini-OS X with its bigger brother, where Apple has a vested interest.
They are Apple Inc. now, and patent licensing as well as software are a big part of the world these days. Apple can't possibly be everything to everybody, so I do see future licensing opportunities where it wouldn't make sense for them to go after it.
Who knows, if the consumer gadget market grows enough to make their Mac sales an insignificant part of their business, you may well see OS X be licensed. I'm sure Dell would love to have inroads into corporate accounts they can't compete in because the lack any real solutions other than Microsoft. Back when they only had Macs, it was a blow to their core business. Now iPods make up almost 50% of their revenue stream.
And... That's it's fun to speculate. Hey, it is a Rumor Site!
