Android in its inception was always billed as an open source platform, well there's a storm brewing with regards to this mantra after rumours that Google is to change the agreement it has with its partners.
According to Businessweek, Google is seeking to have final say over customisations made to the operating system.
It might not sound unreasonable, and probably a case of quality control, but it does mark a major shift in the Google's thinking.
Andriod has always been marketed as an open source OS that was also open to manufacturers and carriers to customise as they wish.
Apparently Google is now demanding that content partnerships and OS tweaks get the blessing of Andy Rubin before proceeding.
If companies decide not to agree to these changes they will have their early access removed and will be caught between a rock and a hard place.
Things have already becoming very heated as Google is being blamed for holding back Verizon handsets that favour Microsoft's Bing rather than Google's own search engine, and it's expected the US department may well have to intervene.
Another major gripe with Google's over-bearing ethos, which has been expressed by those working with Android code, is that Google needs an advance preview of what is being done in order to give it the green light.
The future of Android looks to be a little less open and a little more Apple-ish. Nokia’s Stephen Elop hits the nail on the head: “The premise of a true open software platform may be where Android started, but it’s not where Android is going.”
One thought on “Android Moving Away From Its Mantra Of Being Truly Open Source ?”
Andriod has always been the best OS in open source, I thinks Google should not take any step towards restriction of Open Source, should wait… it will come up like Google SE.