Submitted by It’s official, Google has Open Sourced Android. The initial release of the source code is available via Google’s Git repository with bugs, FAQs, documentation, etc. handled via Android’s Google Code project page. Android’s licensing structure and project organization seems to be trying to create something akin to the Eclipse Foundation, mixing individual and commercial interests into a development pot for the collective benefit of the platform on a whole.
I cant wait to start seeing this pop up in other devices. I wonder if we’ll see a build on windows mobile hardware….
Anything will be better than the horrid interface on Windows Mobile machines
I had to use my brothers MotoQ the other day and almost broke it in frustration. It’s so unintuitive…
I’d welcome flashing Android over the top of one.
I sure hope so!
And I also hope you can just install a new version of Android on the G1 if you choose to do so.
That way we can have a new distro platform with lots of distros! Hail for choice!
I really wish for Android distros that don’t care for stupid software patents and add double tap etc.
kragil,
I actually spoke to one of the leads on the Android team (Iliyan) about this, and it essentially boils down to T-Mobile vetting a new cut of the operating system, and once OK’ed, they can push that out to the devices just like a BlackBerry firmware upgrade or the like. So it’s going to be very feasible for OS upgrades to hit the G1 and other Android devices, it just depends on the carrier.
For example, the free/smaller non-smart-phones from Samsung and Moto that may be running Android in a year, I might not expect them to have OS upgrades available (similar to how things work now with those phones… you get what you get when you buy the phone).
OK, but that is just the way it was intended for Windows Mobile and look at all the HTC devices! They all have custom community built firmware images. (xda-developers.com)
I sure hope something like that will be possible for the G1!
Oh gotcha… I see what you mean, my comparison to BB (Controlled device, Controlled OS) isn’t a great example.
I’d actually expect Android to function very similary to how Eclipse works. When you consider all the commercial products built ontop of Eclipse *theoretically* you are suppose to keep API compatability and drop in new replacements of the platform under your product, but that never happens, not with something *that* big. There are always API breaks, even in the patch releases, so big ISVs tend to normalize on a single version, ship their product on that version and then refresh it about a year later.
Look at WebSphere/IBM, I think they are on a 2-year refresh cycle with WebSphere IDE.
It’s the unfortunate side effect of having a big open community like that with tons of contributors with no choke-point to guarantee compatibility… nor could they do that either I don’t think, unless they’ve written impressive tools to audit code checked in?
Not sure.
This is actually not good news IMHO. I appreciate the carriers wanting to ensure the stability of the devices they offer but would prefer to be able to make up my own mind on upgrading. Using Windows mobile as a reference point for how often carriers willingly update the OS on smartphones I do not see releases coming all too often.
I would like to be able to update my phone to the latest and (potentially unstable) greatest at my discretion. The appeal of Android for me is the potential for an active and growing development platform. If I get a G1 and am stuck with the initial release of Android for the next 18-24 months I would be somewhat let down. The browser especially could use improvement.
Kokopelli,
I imagine upgrading will be just like iPhone. If T-Mobile chooses to vet a new OS upgrade for the G1, you can optionally apply it or just stay put.
Iliyan wasn’t specific about the deployment/upgrade path that T-Mo will take, that’s up to T-Mo to decide, so if I sounded firm on how they were going to roll that out, I apologize, I really don’t know. I just know they will have the option to if they want it.
That being said, I know what you mean. I kept Firmware 1.1.3 on my iPhone all the way until 2.1 came out (skipping the rest of 1.x and 2.0.x releases) just cause I didn’t need to ugprade it. I liked having the choice.
What you have to remember is that this is open code. All that’s needed to spin a new version onto a device, the ability to do offline firmware upgrades, and someone who cares enough to take time to recompile the kernel for hardware support. I would fully expect the XDA crew to have ripped the G1 and any other htc device, apart in the coming months.
Now that the final code is available, I would expect to see it showing up on alot of HTC and alternative devices REAL SOON. I, for one, would love to see Androd running on like a Treo and Nokia Internet Tablets. It would be nice to see how well it runs on older HTC hardware as well.
Fear not, it’s just a matter of time. I am sure you will get community upgrades much faster than carrier upgrades. I have been tracking with the latest 4.5 on my ATT Blackberry 8310 (and 8300 before that) for some time now, and ATT has yet to release it for download.
I really want to try it out on my Nokia N810. They had one of the earlier builds working, but they didnt try to put alot of work into getting all the pieces working, being that the last source available was from a earlier beta build. Even though the N810 doesnt have a phone, i think it would be kewl to use some of the aps for GPS. Offline GPS.
Nokia, your (Symbian) turn!
Nokia has just released a preview version of its:
Qt for S60
two days ago!
The war still begins!
Google certainly know how to keep themselves as the good guys in the eyes of the geek world!
Marketing at its best
Just googled this “port” of Android to the N95 Smartphone.
Dunno if it’s fake or not, will try to install it on my N95-8GB and report back with the results.
http://and2symb.blogspot.com/
Hmmph….
It appears that the blog just has a link to a password protected archive containing nothing but the Android API demos for Symbian which are freely available here.
http://teavuihuang.com/android/
Bloody school kids!