WebOS 'more open' than Android?

Ars Technica recently published HP’s decision means webOS could end up more open than Android.

The fate of WebOS has had people pondering since HP announced it was going to stop developing WebOS. It has been suggested that HP should open source WebOS rather than just killing it. It turns out that that is exactly what they are going to do.

Now this raises an interesting question, could WebOS be more open than Android? Many of us know that you can download most of the Android source, and that you can build Android and put it on your phone, but it’s not a community driven project, indeed it seems to somewhat shun the community. I seem to recall that when Richard Stallman came to Aberystwyth University, he said something like “Android is not open, but it’s the best we’ve got right now”.

I know a number of people who have rejected the iPhone and the Apple culture because it is extremely closed. These people have promoted Android as the open alternative. My question to these people who wanted the open option: When HP opens up WebOS, will you all be jumping ship to the truly open source mobile OS?


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