Here’s the text of the highlighted passage:
Do not develop in the open. Instead, make source code available after innovation is complete
- Lead device concept: Give early access to the software to partners who build and distribute devices to our specification (ie, Motorola and Verizon). They get a non-contractual time to market advantage and in return they align to our standard.
Court papers confirm what most people already knew, but what some OEMs (HTC, LG, etc.) were hoping wasn’t true. Google intends to give lead time advantage to some hardware makers over others. Yes, the Motorola purchase wasn’t just about patents.
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It depends how you interpret the words. It says if partner builds the devices to Google’s specification. Motorola and Verizon are just examples. Anyway, Samsung and HTC have most of the Android market share. Motorola only sells about 4 million devices a quarter. It remains to be seen if Motorola gains any market share if it is owned by Google.
Motorola will be owned by Google, of course they’ll build to specification. As for the others, building to spec means their offering will be exactly like everyone else’s, which is *not* the promise of Android. Remember, it’s supposed to be “open”, and that allows hardware makers to differentiate.