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Howdy, I'm MG Siegler. I’m a general partner at CrunchFund and a columnist for TechCrunch. This is where I collect things.

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“Clopen”

This is a great post by Danny Sullivan. For those of us caught up in the iOS vs. Android battle, it can be easy to lose sight of the simple, bigger picture.

Android may be “open” in the fact that other companies can use the source code and users who so desire (and know how) can root it. But from a pure consumer perspective, the Android phone ecosystem is often anything but open. It’s a huge fucking nightmare — as has been showcased once again by the release of Ice Cream Sandwich.

How weird is it that Google just released a new flagship OS and is going on and on about how great it is, but the vast majority of users have absolutely no access to it? Worse, most have absolutely no clue when — or if — they’ll ever have access to it. This sounds like pretty much the opposite of being “open” to me.

Even stranger, this even includes the devices given Google’s own stamp of approval. Writes Sullivan:

…More

Tags tech google open android ios apple mobile on

Google Nexus Prime

Jonathan Geller:

Our source indicated that Google could be working with multiple carriers and multiple OEMs on their own “exclusive” Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) halo devices, and that they may all launch around the same time.

“Exclusive” == “Open”?

Tags tech google nexus prime open

Google Is Certainly "Open" To Removing Apps On Behalf Of Verizon

Chris Ziegler:

it’s unclear what would possess Google to selectively block access to applications at a carrier’s whim after it put over $4.6 billion on the line simply to ensure that the 700MHz spectrum’s open access provisions went into effect.

I don’t think it’$ unclear at all — there’s now a lot more than $4.6 billion at stake. 

Nice job by This is my next to go just below the surface to call out this hypocrisy that most would overlook at first glance. You have to know the history to really understand why all this “open” rhetoric we’ve been fed for years is so infuriating.

At one point it did mean something — something potentially amazing. Change. An end to carrier control and domination.

Now, it’s just pure bullshit that Google keeps spewing for marketing purposes.

Tags tech verizon google android open