Google android is distributed under an Apache 2.0 license. This license has been approved by the open source initiative.Â
Still the “open source community†is dissatisfied with Android claiming that it’s not open at all. What is criticized is the there is no community approach to development and that it is the phone carriers that determine what system comes with your phone.Â
I don’t think that Google gets enough credit here. If there was a need for a developer community such a community would establish itself. Given Googles experience with user input from chrome I am sure that they would be happy to have one. Furthermore given that development usually takes place on a technical platform not yet on the market (your future phone and not the one on the market) it makes it hard to get user input. I´m not sure Nokia or HTC will let users try prototypes out early on and thereby letting the competition know what will be next.Â
And it can’t be Googles fault that the phone carriers want to close the hardware roaming their net. So all in all give Google some credit.
