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G1 locked to T-Mobile so is it really open source?

Under: Google Android, Mobile Phones, News
Date: September 24th, 2008

We have been hearing for some time how the new Google Android T-Mobile G1 being an open source handset and T-Mobile’s status as a founding member of the Open Source alliance, and how Android is truly open source, but it appears that the G1 is to be locked to T-Mobile.

Yes it is common practice these days to lock a mobile phone to specific carriers, but in this case it raises a few questions. For example, can a mobile phone be classed as “truly open” if it is officially restricted to a particular carrier?

As the G1 is locked will we see a rush to jailbreak it? Will there now be a G1 Dev team in the making?

What’s your take, is the G1 truly open source?

Source – androidcommunity

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Read More About: android, google, t-mobile

http://www.chinarut.com Chinarut
hmm – i was wondering this to – my opinion, no. for the G1 to really unleash its power – it would have to be released unlocked.
my guess is with the awareness of jailbreaked iPhones – they took the extra steps to ensure this wouldn’t happen again – or at least so easily…otherwise, why not release it “jailbroken” in the first place?
http://www.chinarut.com Chinarut
just saw this:
http://gizmodo.com/5054236/unlocking-the-t+mobile-g1-the-definitive-word
Craig
My opinion is that the G1 was not meant to be “open”, Android was, and since the source code is available, and any manufacturer can take this code and develop their own handsets, the term “open” fits the bill quite well.