Today Android is Open Source. Why does it matter?

Today Google released Android as Open Source and you may think it matters because of the ecosystem of applications that could flourish around it, because that way Google may establish Android as a platform that players could use as a basis for growth pushing that way Google’s and Android’s growth and … of course you may be right and I won’t disagree with you.

However, I think there is more. Since when we have been talking of the internet of things?, of an internet of devices permanently connected? Probably more than five years …

The problem with this Internet has always been twofold, on one side the network, but on the other having an operating system that was small enough, regularly updated and able to connect to everything following known user interfaces.

Something that you can easily fit in a vacuum cleaner, a fridge, a tv set or whatever you can imagine. Of course developing all that for a vacuum cleaner is just toooo much (unless is Roomba … of course). But now is there, ready to use, with a well known user interface that can connect to everywhere …

My guess is that, Android today is about mobile phones, but tomorrow will be about whatever users decide it to be !!

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Just one day after I wrote that Wind River announced that the company will offer Android embedded systems. I thought it will be fast ... but not that fast :-)