The Android Bait & Switch - A Tale Of The Open Source Trick

Interesting news coming from the Android front this week. Following a couple of years of battle during which Google came at Apple in every possible way boasting their open-source mobile system (which they claimed was ideologically superior), they're now walking away from it. So, for those of you who don't follow the tech world drama, Google's Android is (or was) an open-source mobile operating system. Just like Linux, the idea was that anyone could access every single line of code that powered the system and do whatever they want with it. Whether you wanted to do your own version with funny graphics or adapt it to power your fridge, you were free to do so. Apple on the other hand always kept iOS under tight control. Only a few have access to how it functions, and Apple is the sole authority deciding how iOS should be and where it's used. We believe this has allowed Apple to make a system that is much more integrated and easy to use for the mainstream world. It has also avoided a situation where subpar devices ran the operating system and inhabited Apple's wonderful App Store. Google and its open-source code have allowed tons of manufacturers to make devices running Android for free. They each took the liberty of messing with the code, which resulted in a fragmented platform where every device is different, and apps don't always run on all of them. Yet, since it was free and accessible, it became the system that powers many manufacturer's phones. Now that Google has convinced so many companies to use their system and made them depend on it, they're changing the rules of the game. Recently, Google announced that they will not be releasing their latest version of Android, Honeycomb, to the world. For now they will only be giving it to select "partners." Businessweek has learned even more details, which give you an idea of where Google is going:

Playtime is over in Android Land. Over the last couple of months Google has reached out to the major carriers and device makers backing its mobile operating system with a message: There will be no more willy-nilly tweaks to the software. No more partnerships formed outside of Google's purview. From now on, companies hoping to receive early access to Google's most up-to-date software will need approval of their plans. And they will seek that approval from Andy Rubin, the head of Google's Android group.

All in all, this is very good. Basically, Google is getting much closer to Apple's model. This will allow Google to make Android much better, and really control their ecosystem. This way they can ensure that only good devices run Android, and that apps work on all of them. After spending years criticizing iOS and publicly telling us how evil Apple and its closed system is, this is nothing short of shameless. As John Gruber of Daring Fireball puts it nicely:

So here’s the Android bait-and-switch laid bare. Android was “open” only until it became popular and handset makers dependent upon it. Now that Google has the handset makers by the balls, Android is no longer open and Google starts asserting control. Andy Rubin, Vic Gundotra, all of them: shameless, lying hypocrites.

We're looking forward to seeing what Android will become thanks to this evolution. Also, this means you should never again hear an Android fanboy telling you about open, and whatever that really means. Good or bad news? You tell me. [Image Credit: Businessweek]

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