Google Android goes Open Source

Android is the open mobile platform being developed by the Open Handset Alliance, a group of more than 30 technology and mobile companies, led by Google. The technical preview release of Opera Mini for Android is available at labs.opera.com, inviting the Android development community to test the fresh build and share feedback with Opera for the forthcoming beta. Android, too, is creating a Linux-based software stack for mobile devices . Many analysts said the Symbian open source effort was a direct shot across Android’s bow.

Code-named Android, the platform will contain a full set of components such as a operating system (but not only that), a set of common APIs, a customizable user interface, a middleware layer, a mobile Internet browser and others. Not need to worry, instant messaging standard protocols have been also mentioned by the sources.Apple came along with the iPhone and the iPhone SDK, but it’s still not an entirely open development platform. With Android, Google is hoping that they can change everything, such as they did with Gmail and search.

Google has defined several levels of participation and has documented how third-party developers can gain higher access privileges, including the ability to approve inclusion of changes and new code into the Android code base. If Google adheres to the guidelines that it has defined, then anyone who has demonstrated sufficient technical expertise and has made significant code contributions will be permitted to participate at the highest levels and help guide the future of the project. Google today helped bring open source in mobile even further to the foreground. In order to reach the mobile consumer market, open source software and open standards are vital because of the billions of devices on the market.

Google’s new GPhone is actually a cell phone operating system known as Android. The truly remarkable thing is that the Android operating system is open-source, enabling anyone to create programs for any phone using the new Google system. Google did something very smart by making Android open-source. Now few can refuse it and this spells bad news for the big, bad Microsoft (and perhaps HTC). services group to help support phone makers building Android phones. Now, though, as T-Mobile’s G1 arrives on the market, Google hopes to multiply that by drawing upon the collective energy of outside contributors to the project.