The mobile world is in turmoil after Google acquisition of Motorola. HP’s CEO Meg Whitman states that Google’s move will push Android into a “close” solution.
“I think that Android may end up as a closed system because of [Google's] relationship with Motorola”, Whitman said in her keynote presentation at HP’s company global partner summit in Las Vegas, according to Channel EMEA.
The enormous success of Android is due to be open-source. This has allowed many companies to modify to their liking Google’s system so it can be adapted to the needs of their products.
This feature allowed Android to get into many segments of the mobile market and now users are able to find a smartphone in any price range. Of course Google has to pay a price. In fact, many companies have fundamentally altered the original operating system and user interface, leaving very little connection with the original system. This ”fragmentation” has created problems for many app compatibility in the market.
For some time Google is taking measures against this phenomenon in order to ensure a single platform, but it remains customizable by hardware manufacturers. The goal is perhaps too ambitious for the company in Mountain View. Indeed, many analysts think that Android will soon become a closed system and will be hosted by the new Motorola branded smartphone, and then by Google. Just this assumption has led many companies to stay one step ahead of Google. For example, HP has bought Palm and made its own open source operating system, WebOS. Obviously if Android becomes a closed system there will be much work for the legal team of companies like Samsung, HTC, LG, Huawei.
In short, we better keep our code safe as Android might become in few years an heirloom to the museum ….
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