Of course they should get aggressive with Windows Phone (as a last-ditch effort to make the platform relevant), but nothing is going to change.
"I get the sense that many Android loyalists arent quite as enthusiastic about the platform and its flagship devices as they once were." -- Android loyalists seem pretty happy with the 5.0 announcement. Aside from iPhones, the times where people were truly excited about a new model are over. There's just nothing exciting about 'same as last year but with better specs'. I think people are starting to realize that the phones are all pretty much the same.
"The buzz around Amazons just announced Fire Phone also seems to prove the smartphone market is itching for something different." -- the phone where everyone is pretty much in agreement that it's going to bomb and there is no reason to get it over other phones? The idea that people are itching to try a niche OS is ludicrous. They are itching for Windows Phone like they are itching for Linux on the desktop.
"Apple is also a few months off from releasing the iPhone 6 (assuming thats the devices name) and the perception of the iPhone 5s has gone from cutting-end, to old hat." -- well, good think Apple will finally offer bigger screens. There'll be a lot of demand for those and people will continue to view it as the best thing ever.
As long as OEMs want to sell Android phones, they will. "People don't buy things; they are sold things.". Microsoft will gain some additional OEMs with 8.1, but it remains to be seen how much effort those will put into the platform (spoiler alert: they'll still focus on their Android offerings; the situation will mirror Samsung's and HTC's previous Windows Phone efforts).
