Chinese IT Ministry Looks Askance At Google's Control of Android

itwbennett writes "In what one expert is calling a clear message to China's tech industry that the authorities want to support a homegrown mobile operating system, China's tech regulator warns in a white paper that the country is becoming too dependent on Google's Android OS. 'Our country's mobile operating system research and development is heavily reliant on Android,' reads the white paper from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. 'Although the Android system currently remains open source, the core technologies and technology roadmap is strictly controlled by Google.'"

Comments

Centralized government to Google

[Anonymous Coward]

Pot, kettle, black.

Fork it

[kimvette]

Don't like it? Fork it. It's like the typical copycat bullshit China usually does, only better. Others have already taken the initiative:

http://news.yahoo.com/three-android-forks-exist-today-135000744.html

Re: Fork it

[1u3hr]

I don't even know how to cuss or ask for a beer in Chinese.

Pok gai -- aw yiu bia jou!

Re:Fork it

[Andy Dodd]

Or even better - PARTICIPATE. The Android Open Source project is there for a reason.

Manufacturers who want to guide the direction Android goes technologically will work with Google - for example, Sony is a heavy contributor to AOSP. The results of this show with their newer devices, which are far more well integrated than older ones. It's a win-win situation for Sony, Google, and users in general.

But Chinese manufacturers just want to steal and not do any work. Seriously, they have stealing refined to such an art that IF YOU GIVE IT TO THEM FOR FREE THEY STILL MANAGE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO STEAL IT! (Note that nearly every Chinese handset is in noncompliance with the GPL under which the kernel is licensed. Not just halfassed pseudo-compliance like HTC and Samsung with source code that obviously doesn't match what shipped, but full on complete noncompliance with zero kernel source whatsoever.)

Nice thing about open source

[fermion]

Is it can be forked. But then we have the question of whether Android, the open source part, is really enough to build a phone or if only basic elements are open source, while key elements are closed or so severely controlled that they might as well be closed.

Of course the Chinese might be able to fork some of it, and the Apache licensee lets them do this without giving back. But then, given that 50% Android phones pay a tribute to MS, the Chinese government might get into trouble for being a pirate nation, unless of course they pay tribute to MS>

Uh, what?

[Daetrin]

There are already a number of Android forks in China, including one by the Chinese search giant Baidu, who has also replaced Google as the default search engine in most of the Android phones there.

cf. "Android is failing by succeeding in China"

The Google "control" of Android doesn't seem to be doing much to deter Chinese companies.

Open Handset Alliance

[Enderandrew]

Not entirely true. Google initially created Android and released it as open source. But Android today is governed by the Open Handset Alliance. Several companies (including hardware ones) have a say in Android development, not just Google.

http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/android_overview.html

Re:Chinese OS?

[drinkypoo]

Well you have to install someone's OS. And right now Google is probably the most trustworthy company on the planet.

Ding! I can trust Apple, Microsoft, or Google. Google's offering is based on Linux and much of it is Open Source. The parts that aren't Open Source tell you that they're spying on you, and are optional. Does it, in fact, get any better than this?

I had to loook it up...

[ArcadeNut]

Definition of ASKANCE

1: with a side-glance : obliquely

2: with disapproval or distrust : scornfully

Guess that's the word of the day...

Re:Poor PRC commies

[X0563511]

I'd rather avoid either - but if I had the choice, I'd take the "Zionist" over government.