Verge: HTC in 'disarray', staff departures, 'disastrous' First, & production problems

[lothar]

The First has root and stock Android! What else do you need?

Just because a phone has "stock" Android doesn't automatically mean that it will get support from the modding community.
A prime example here would be the T-Mobile LG G2X from 2 years ago. It was advertised as shipping with "stock" Android, and yet the phone is still stuck on ICS with little to no support from HTC or the modding community.