Google phone rising: The Android and the politics of open source

Abstract

This paper explores the rise of Google's Android phone – a fascinating case study in a crucial yet under-theorized terrain of mobile media that illuminates the politics of software, operating systems, and their attachments to handsets and networks. While Android is a notable attempt to create an open source platform, I argue that in key respects it remains tied to the project of media corporations enclosing and controlling mobile and online platforms. This is nowhere more evident than in Google's embroilment in intellectual property struggles over smartphone patents.

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Pip Shea for research assistance. I am grateful also to three anonymous referees who offered useful comments and critique of an earlier version of the paper.