Does Google Own Android? – Does Google own Android? The long-rumored rumor that Google is the founder and owner of Android was confirmed earlier this month when the search giant introduced its new Android Kit Kat 4.4 mobile program. Google’s purchase of the mobile operating system from Samsung is a highly anticipated move by the company, considering that Android has greatly benefitted from improvements in mobile hardware over the past few years. The acquisition marks yet another example of Google dominating the tech world.
Samsung’s Galaxy S is arguably the most popular smartphone on the market. Samsung is also the biggest developer of mobile operating systems, having developed multiple OSes including Tizen and Gingerbread. Microsoft is also making its own Xbox game console based on Windows and the now-shaking Xbox 360. Google is rumoring that it may also be working on a touch-screen mobile operating system. The New York Times reported on August 6th that Google will bundle its Google+ social networking tool with its new smartphone.
Google’s decision to buy the Android operating system from Samsung comes as no surprise, considering that Samsung’s Android operating system already powers some of its most popular devices. Smartphones such as the Galaxy S and Note series have huge amounts of storage, allowing users to store a lot of media and images.
In addition, TouchWiz skins are preinstalled on many of these devices, giving them a unique look and feel. These phones also support Google’s Android applications platform. Google’s acquisition of the Android operating system will give it access to both the source code and the developer community that make custom applications for the platform.
The biggest change that Google’s acquisition of Android will bring to the company however, is the opportunity to extend its influence across multiple devices. Google is already the leader in the smartphone market, after acquiring Android and integrating it into its Chrome mobile browser. Now it has the chance to develop its operating system into devices that run on other operating systems as well. By doing so, Google will be able to let its users take their favorites wherever they go.
By adding the Android operating system to multiple devices under the same company umbrella, Google is making it easier for anyone to access the company’s apps on any kind of device. Since Android is open source, it allows anyone to build an app for the platform that others can then download and use. With this in mind, it’s likely that Google will make more devices compatible with its custom apps. For now, it will focus on making its core apps designed for phones and tablets. It is not clear whether the company will eventually attempt to make its software open to phones and tablets from other companies.
If Google does want to open the source code of its operating system to developers, it will have to work through some major issues. Google co-founded the Open Source Project, which is the developer program that supplies the Android operating system to developers. The company also forks its software in many ways, which increases the responsibility of the company. If it doesn’t want to take on the responsibility, or if it can’t agree on terms between the various parties, then it probably won’t put out an official version of its operating system. At the very least, it will be releasing the Android SDK, which lets developers use the core features of the system.
To have a glimpse of how Google might work with its new operating system, it’s important to realize just how many phones and tablets are being sold today. There are phones made by several different manufacturers that run on Google’s Android operating system. In fact, it is estimated that there are at least 50 different devices that run on the mobile platform. If Google does want to be the company that decides what phones and tablets run on its system, it will be taking a major initiative.
Regardless of what the company does ultimately decide to do, it is clear that it is interested in becoming a force in the mobile technology space. In the last few years, it has acquired other software firms, including Motorola Mobility and HTC, and it is arguably working to become the leader in mobile devices. If it successfully gets into the smartphone market with its own operating system, it will be exciting to watch how it combines its interests in hardware and software with its goal of becoming the internet’s central information center.
