案例库 · 战略与领导 · 战略决策 · 2007–2008
这条还没译成中文，下面是英文原文。
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
那一手
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.
为什么管用
- 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.
可以搬走什么
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.
后来呢
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.
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