android to be renamed google OS

[bearxor]

I'm going to go with"Google+Mobile"

 

[sdifox]

And? AOSP doesn't have a requirement for a Google account. If it did, the Kindle Fire could never exist, Android powered smart watches could never exist, cheap ass Chinese android tablets couldn't exist, nooks, the new android based OS for Tesla vehicles, all that stuff couldn't exist if Android required a Google account.

If you want access to Google services, sure most people have a google account in order access them for convenience sake, but there is literally nothing stopping you from installing a pure AOSP build on your phone and not accessing a single Google service and taking every mention of the word google out of the source code. Hell make bing your default search provider if you want. The phone will still work 100%.

Can you access google play without an android account legally? No.

https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2521798?hl=en

 

[Phoenix86]

Do you really have to have a google account for all droid phones?

Step 1: turn on new phone.
Step 2: link phone to google acct.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Can you access google play without an android account legally? No.

So? Is Google play access suddenly a requirement to use a Android powered smartphone?

Does it stop me from making calls, sending texts, accessing the internet, reading email from a non gmail client if I don't have a google play account?

Because if Android is impossible to use without a Google play account, you better call Amazon and tell them their wildy popular Kindle fire should not exist because the Kindle doesn't have Google Play access.

 

[sdifox]

So? Is Google play access suddenly a requirement to use a Android powered smartphone?

Does it stop me from making calls, sending texts, accessing the internet, reading email from a non gmail client if I don't have a google play account?

... You ever seen the initialization sequence of an android device???

Arguing you don't need a goggle account on an android device is like arguing you don't need good tires for a super car. Sure, you can turn it on, floor the pedal and the wheel will spin, but if you want to get anywhere without getting killed, you need to buy good tires.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Yes I've seen it. I don't understand why that means that Android requires a google account.

There is a skip button on the account setup page.

And using the phone without a google play account is more akin to having a super car that the car manufacturer has no record of you owning. You won't get any service/warranty or anything from the manufacturer, but the car still runs 100% fine.

And answer the question, if Android requires a google play account, why do things like the Kindle Fire exist and are popular?

 

[sdifox]

Yes I've seen it. I don't understand why that means that Android requires a google account.

There is a skip button on the account setup page.

And using the phone without a google play account is more akin to having a super car that the car manufacturer has no record of you owning. You won't get any service/warranty or anything from the manufacturer, but the car still runs 100% fine.

so what do you do with an android tablet without access to google play?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

so what do you do with an android tablet without access to google play?

Access email, browse the web, play games, anything I really want.

 

[sdifox]

Access email, browse the web, play games, anything I really want.

...I give up.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

...I give up.

Because you're wrong.

The very existence of the Kindle Fire completely invalidates your point.

 

[sdifox]

Because you're wrong.

The very existence of the Kindle Fire completely invalidates your point.

That being a customised version of android to lock people into amazon appstore... Like iOS is a customised version of unix.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

That being a customised version of android to lock people into amazon appstore... Like iOS is a customised version of unix.

And its based off Android. Which by your account requires a google play account. But according to the Kindle fire, that is wholly incorrect.

 

[sdifox]

And its based off Android. Which by your account requires a google play account. But according to the Kindle fire, that is wholly incorrect.

dude, picking a customised version where the customisation is specifically to change the market it hits as the proof android doesn't require a google account is kind of the using the exception as the rule kind of argument.

Next you are going to tell me all unix OS users must go through Apple store.

 

[lxskllr]

dude, picking a customised version where the customisation is specifically to change the market it hits as the proof android doesn't require a google account is kind of the using the exception as the rule kind of argument.

Next you are going to tell me all unix OS users must go through Apple store.

What you're saying is all GNU/Linux distros are Ubuntu. The fact that other disros don't use the Ubuntu repos are irrelevant to you; It's still Ubuntu. That's incorrect. The "market" is a defining characteristic of a distro, of which Play is one. My Android tablet's generic, and I don't use the markets, or repos it shipped with. In fact, they've been removed, as has all the Google spyware.

As far as renaming goes, I'd like to see more specific naming of Android distros. GoogleOS is a fine name, and it tells people up front it's a spyware infected distro. They can then research a better distro, and if one isn't available, they can get a different device altogether.

 

[sdifox]

What you're saying is all GNU/Linux distros are Ubuntu. The fact that other disros don't use the Ubuntu repos are irrelevant to you; It's still Ubuntu. That's incorrect. The "market" is a defining characteristic of a distro, of which Play is one. My Android tablet's generic, and I don't use the markets, or repos it shipped with. In fact, they've been removed, as has all the Google spyware.

As far as renaming goes, I'd like to see more specific naming of Android distros. GoogleOS is a fine name, and it tells people up front it's a spyware infected distro. They can then research a better distro, and if one isn't available, they can get a different device altogether.

err, I am saying you cannot use a customised version of an OS as the generalisation. So what do you use your android tablet for without the apps? Or are you just running off some other market?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

err, I am saying you cannot use a customised version of an OS as the generalisation. So what do you use your android tablet for without the apps? Or are you just running off some other market?

The point is that the fact that there existed a customized version of the OS means that your point is wrong.

Secondly, I can run a completely clean AOSP no google services ROM on my phone easily.

Thirdly, yes, you can use your tablet without the Android Market. Apps are easily sideloaded, you can run alternative markets, the browsers still works so you can still use the internet. There are no limitations if you don't have Google Play access over the use of your device.

The claim that Android is locked into google services is completely untrue and shows a clear lack of understanding of how AOSP works.

 

[sdifox]

The point is that the fact that there existed a customized version of the OS means that your point is wrong.

Secondly, I can run a completely clean AOSP no google services ROM on my phone easily.

Thirdly, yes, you can use your tablet without the Android Market. Apps are easily sideloaded, you can run alternative markets, the browsers still works so you can still use the internet. There are no limitations if you don't have Google Play access over the use of your device.

The claim that Android is locked into google services is completely untrue and shows a clear lack of understanding of how AOSP works.

All right, I guess I misunderstood your point of view. Explained this way, I have to agree with you.

I was going by the SOP of android devices.

 

[lxskllr]

err, I am saying you cannot use a customised version of an OS as the generalisation. So what do you use your android tablet for without the apps? Or are you just running off some other market?

Android is a generic name at this point. I don't think I like that because it obfuscates the nature of the O/S. You could have something as open and libre as Debian, or it could be as locked as MacOS. Android is Android, but the implementation matters. I use the Fdroid repository. All apps are libre, and have source code available. That's more like Debian. Play store is more like Ubuntu, with a mix of proprietary and libre apps. The core system of both is Android, trademark issues aside.

 

[sdifox]

Android is a generic name at this point. I don't think I like that because it obfuscates the nature of the O/S. You could have something as open and libre as Debian, or it could be as locked as MacOS. Android is Android, but the implementation matters. I use the Fdroid repository. All apps are libre, and have source code available. That's more like Debian. Play store is more like Ubuntu, with a mix of proprietary and libre apps. The core system of both is Android, trademark issues aside.

Fair enough.

 

[lopri]

I use F-Droid, too. Lots of hidden gems there including paid apps from Play store. I rooted my N5 today and freezed lots of Google services. Heck i even found the 4.4 AOSP Messaging app and replaced Hangout with it. ^^

I consider the Nexus 5 be a phone that runs Google ROM on Android. Kind of like Samsung runs Touchwiz on Android. Benefits of the Nexus 5 is lower price + easy to root/mod, in part because it is not tied to carriers. Note how Google advertise their products as "Nexus experience," "Google experience," not "pure, unadulterated Android."

There can be lots of motives behind Google's business practices. Their recent move to decouple various services were often characterized as an effort to fight against Android fragments. But one could easily see it as a move to avoid future anti-trust litigations from authorities. The truth may lie somewhere in between.

 

[thecapsaicinkid]

omg could you imagine being FORCED to have a google+ account to use your fucking phone?

An Android phone is pretty pointless without a regular Google account and the only additional information a Google+ account requires is your real name and gender. So what? Hardly a big leap is it. Google+ = Google.

 

[ChronoReverse]

so what do you do with an android tablet without access to google play?

Use Amazon Market for most of your apps or sideload from the various other markets available (and legal).

It's only a problem if you have an ax to grind.