The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2007–2008
Google gave Android away under a permissive license to win every phone maker.
Android was released under Apache, not GPL, so manufacturers could adopt it free and even customize privately, turning rivals into distributors.
Google · Open Handset Alliance
the move
In 2007 Nokia and Microsoft controlled smartphone operating systems that device makers had to license, so a new OS had no path into phones and the usual approach was to charge for it or keep it closed.
Google instead formed the Open Handset Alliance and announced on October 20, 2008 that it would release Android's source code under the Apache license, which requires developers to share nothing back.
Andy Rubin described the point plainly: the license lets manufacturers innovate on the platform and keep their changes for themselves, which removes the biggest reason not to adopt it.
Free and non-copyleft, Android became the OS every maker could take, and Google's revenue came from search and services rather than licenses.
why it works
- No license fee removes the biggest objection a phone maker has.
- Apache rather than GPL lets OEMs differentiate their phones without giving away their tweaks.
- Every Android phone that ships is a distribution channel for Google services.
what transfers
To get a standard adopted fast, choose a permissive license that is free and carries no obligation to share back, and let other firms' distribution become your reach.
what came after
Android went from underdog to the dominant mobile OS by volume within a few years, while the open-but-not-copyleft choice kept the fragmentation debate alive. Google's strategy of giving away the OS and monetizing elsewhere proved out, and the license choice became a canonical case in platform strategy.
references
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