Believe it or not!
I. Background on Android Open Source
Android is an open source project, but there are a few apps in Android that are NOT part of the normal Android OS. The Market, GMail, and Google Maps for instance (if you live overseas and bought an HTC Magic without the Google Experience logo on the back, you would have noticed that these apps are definitely missing from your phone). These apps not only are not technically part of the Android OS but they are also closed apps (they do not allow people to alter them and get into their code). There is a good reason for this, especially with the Market. As Google, you would not want people to be able to get into Market code and change anything for the security of the people purchasing apps through the Market.
II. What Google is ACTUALLY Mad About and Why
Cyanogen received a Cease and Desist notice from Google because of the inclusion of “certain closed source apps” in his ROM.
These apps are not licensed to Cyanogen for redistribution, so Google can definitely stop him from giving them out technically.
Bottom line though guys, this is NOT about rooting it is about the Market, GMail, and Google Maps apps that make up the Google Experience being given to phones that do not normally have them installed. Google charges manufacturers to distribute these apps and do not want those who did not pay for them to have the ability to get these apps by using the Cyanogen ROM.
If anyone has any more insight into the situation, please comment.
Update: GOOGLE RELEASES A STATEMENT!
Google officially APPROVES of custom Android builds!
Google goes on to talk about how GMail, Market, and Maps are their own developed software for Android (as opposed to apps that are normally included with Android) and they make money off them just like any other developer would if they made an app for the Market. Google makes money by selling the Google Experience (all of these apps combined) to manufacturers, even though the Android OS is free (sneaky if you think about it, who would want Android without the market?). So they don’t want people to be able to get them for free.
The issue I have with this explanation is that Cyanogen was making ROMs mainly for devices that already have the Google Experience logo on them so what are they losing? Couldn’t he just put in something that would stop non Google experience phones from loading his ROMs (there are so few of these phones out anyway and I doubt there will be any of them in future versions of phones from manufacturers, I mean who would honestly want an Android phone without the Market??)
IN CONCLUSION
1. The Google Market, GMail and Google Maps are NOT free apps and are separate from the Android OS. Even though we don’t pay for them as end users, the manufacturers do.
2. Google doesn’t want phones that don’t normally have those apps on them (because the manufacturers did not pay for them to be there) to be able to get them for free using Cyanogen’s ROM.
3.. This came about all of a sudden most likely because of Cyanogen releasing the not-yet-released version of the Market.
4. Phones that already have the Market, GMail, and Google Maps on them are of no concern to Google as those manufacturers have already paid for those apps.
5. Google encourages rooting and modding of Android, they just don’t non Google Experience phones to gain the Market, GMail, and Google Maps without their manufacturers purchasing them.
6. Can’t Cyanogen just put in a block to stop certain Non Google Experience phones from loading his ROMs (they are such a small percentage of devices anyway) and stop Google from breathing down his neck about this?
-Droidboy
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