Is licensing software always the best approach?

[BrontesMuse]

Licensed software makes hardware cheaper. Custom software makes the hardware unique, and not as much of a commodity.

[pedrocandrade]

That's the story with PCs. But what if you contract huge Chinese manufactures to build your hardware using the same components as the rest of the industry (thus same cost) but use proprietary software that links beautifully to your particular configuration? Wouldn't it give you the best of both worlds? Cheap AND unique? Meaning high margins and happy customers.