14 DAY TRIAL // The Oracle - Google patent lawsuit is great fodder for sensationalist headlines and some of the recent developments are quite interesting, like the fact that a Google engineer admitted that he had access to Sun (now part of Oracle) Java code when writing Google's version.
Less shocking and revealing, despite the many claims to the contrary, are a couple of things surfaced in the lawsuit which seem very bad for Google.
In a presentation, Google lists several ways in which it can benefit from Android and how to ensure that it stays successful.
Two bullet points from that presentation draw the most attention. In one, Google says "Do not develop in the open. Instead, make the source code available after innovation is complete."
Google has always argued about Android's openness as being its major selling point. It urging its employees to 'not develop in the open' looks like the exact opposite of its public statements.
Except it's not. Android has always been developed behind closed doors. This is not a mystery to anyone and it's the same way most open source Google projects are developed, Google Chrome for example.
Only once the code is ready, Google makes it available to everyone. Granted, it didn't do the same with Honeycomb, claiming that it was somewhat of a rush job and that the code was not ready for being released publicly.
The thing that spurred even more outrage was another bullet point which read:
"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."
Again, it looks pretty indefensible. Google is saying that partners that play by its rules get early access to code and get a 'time to market advantage' in return.
But, again, this is not a mystery to anyone following Android and it's certainly not something new to any Android partner. Each new version of the operating system had a flagship device, not always the Nexus or the Nexus S.
The Motorola Droid, which was most likely referred to in the document is one such 'lead device.' The Motorola XOOM tablet is another. HTC also got preferential treatment early on.
The only competitive advantage a lead device gets is that it can be in the stores soon after a new Android version is launched. Other partners have to test the new version and develop phones for it, which takes time.
What's more, it is hardly evidence that Google will be favoring Motorola from now on. The company has no intention of becoming a big player in the smartphone market, instead it wants Android on as many devices and in as many people's hands as possible and it won't risk angering its partners for the sake of a low margins phone making business.