4 ms·

The "Android is free" bit is remarkably foolhardy, so it is surprising that it appears in so many articles. I've heard that Microsoft charges somewhere in the

by ergo98 16y ago

The "Android is free" bit is remarkably foolhardy, so it is surprising that it appears in so many articles. I've heard that Microsoft charges somewhere in the range of $10 / unit for Windows Mobile, generally for an image that you quite literally set some flags and you have your gold copy (at least pre Windows Mobile 7, as my experience was with the CE variants). For Android the individual handset makers take on tremendous responsibility, not to mention that they often - for reasons of differentiation - decide to apply a generous layer of spakle on top. That doesn't come for free. Android isn't and has never been free.

Someone 16y ago
It think is even more true than you indicate. http://source.android.com/faqs.html http://source.android.com/faqs.html says: Devices that are properly compatible can seek approval to use the Android trademark. ... Android Market is only licensed to handset manufacturers shipping devices. ... The Google apps for Android, such as YouTube, Google Maps and Navigation, Gmail, and so on are Google properties that are not part of Android, and are licensed separately. I cannot find proof of it, but I would guess neither of these are free.