Android gets Open Source Licence

When Google released Android in November 2007, it had also declared that it would eventually release the code under an open source licence. The organisation did it very recently along with its partners in the Open Handset Alliance. It is now possible for users to download the code and in turn help Google develop it further. The code is released under the Apache 2.0 licence and consists of Android’s codebase.

It also includes all the libraries, media codecs and various applications. The timing of this announcement could not have been better. The release of the code comes with the release of the first Android Phone, the T-Mobile G1. It is to go on sale in this week. An Apache licence enables developers to distribute and modify the source code in any way that may seem right to them. It is also not necessary for the developers to distribute the new code under the same licence.

The licence also need not be an open source licence that would let companies have the option of developing their own proprietary platforms on the basis of Android. It is going to be very interesting to see if developers actually take the Android platform. There already have been some interesting software releases in the wake of the release of G1.

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