Android is the Least Open of All Open Source Mobile Development Platforms, Research Reports

A London-based research firm called VisionMobile has released a new method of tracking "openness" among mobile platforms called the Open Governance Index. According to its metrics, Android is the least "open" of all the supposedly open source mobile platforms, with a 23% openness rating. Eclipse, an open development platform comprise of extensible networks and tools, was rated the most open at 84%.

The irony of Eclipse being the most open development framework is that many Android app developers code with the platform in combination with Google's Android Developer Tools (ADT) Plugin. It is not uncommon in the open-source community to use multiple tools for multiple frameworks (downstream production) to accomplish something that is, ostensibly, not that open. For instance, as much as Android is not "open," it uses open source projects like WebKit and the Linux kernel to perform many of its key functions.

VisionMobile uses "governance" as opposed to "licenses" as what it thinks is the best way to track openness. It defines governance with four main principles in mind....