4 ms·
I think that now that Google has the manufacturers and networks hooked, they will close the loopholes (e.g. swapping out the search engine) by changing the lice
by fharper1961 16y ago
I think that now that Google has the manufacturers and networks hooked, they will close the loopholes (e.g. swapping out the search engine) by changing the licensing for newer versions.
- bryanlarsen 16y agoSure they will, if they feel like shooting themselves in the foot. Android would probably survive the accident, but it'd certainly start limping. The open source part of Android created by Google (which is most of Android) uses the Apache Software License (v2.0). If they change any conditions, Android would no longer be open source. The biggest winner would be Nokia, because Meego & Symbian would then become the only viable open phone stacks, although some would defect to Apple, because if you're going to use a non-open phone, you might as well go with Apple.
- wmf 16y agoRealistically, Android without the market and Google apps is not Android and Google can charge whatever they want for those apps. I suspect they're better off giving those apps for free and making money from the ads inside them. Honestly, the whole "OMG they replaced Google with Bing!" story is overblown; there's a lot more to a phone than the Web browser.