Why is Google keeping Android's secrets to itself?

All is not well in the Android application developer camp, according to a report at Ars Technica. Despite its noble intent of creating a mobile operating system that is completely open and free to use, Google appears to have been running a duplicitous two-tier development program for Android.

The problem stems from the software development kit (SDK) – the software developers need id they are two write programs for Android SDK dates back to February and is long overdue a refresh. Despite requests from developers, however, Google has so far kept quiet on both the SDK and the current state of the Android platform.

Well, not that quiet, as it turns out. An email sent by Google on Tuesday revealed that there is a new SDK available for download, but only if you’re one of 50 select developers. The email was intended for entrants who have made it to round two of the Android Developer Challenge (ADC), but Google accidentally sent it to a public mailing list and the cat was out of the bag.

ADC developers have apparently confirmed that they have access to more recent development tools than everyone else, but a non-disclosure agreement prevents them from saying much else. Google, typically, is saying nothing.

The secrecy surrounding Android is particularly disappointing given Google’s stated aims for the project. At the announcement of Android and the Open Handset Alliance back in November 2007, Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt, said that Android represented “a fresh approach to fostering innovation in the mobile industry” and the Android website is bursting such phrases as "Open" and "All applications are equal". Alas, it now seems that some applications are more equal than others.

This could be a big problem for Google. Without widespread developer support, Android may not amount to much when it finally launches. Its lack of openness about a supposedly open platform has already caused some developers to vent their frustration and this latest wheeze is bound to push some programmers towards the iPhone and newly open source Symbian .

[ Ars Technica]