[sl956]

That is not totally true: there is a fundamental difference between a closed source OS purposefully locked by its maker, and an open source OS tentatively locked by a mere distributor. On almost every Android phone, you can just flash the entire OS and replace it with a plain vanilla one or your own custom build. Try that with an iPhone...

[pilif]

well. On older iPhones with known issues in the bootloader, you could in theory also replace the apple OS with something completely different (remember the Android on iPhone 3G videos earlier this year?).

The fact that HTC and other vendors are sloppier in securing their phones (remember the discussions about Motorola's e-fuse?) doesn't make these phones more "open" in the "freedom" sense.

It just means that it's easier to exploit them to install a different OS.

Now the Android OS of course is open source, but what good is that if there's no device available that actually allows you to officially install your own build? This also means that my earlier comments are about the phones, not the OS itself.

[nuclear_eclipse]

The Nexus One does officially allow you to install your own build. Google gives you the directions to "unlock" your N1 bootloader, which granted, voids the warranty, but is a "sanctioned" method for flashing your phone's firmware.

Alternately, the OpenMoko FreeRunner is a "truly free" phone, and has its own distribution of Android available in which you have total control of the entire hardware and software stack.

[wvenable]

While, as you said, you can "in theory" replace Apple's OS -- with Android, it's a practical possibility since the OS is available for you to tinker.

But I totally agree, this declared "openness" is bullshit. The situation with Android ROMs right now is almost identical to the situation with Windows Mobile and nobody would claim that is open.

[runjake]

There are 3 such devices: the ADP1 (aka G1), ADP2 (aka Magic, and the ADP3 (aka Nexus One)

[flatulent1]

My own custom build? That sounds wonderful. What phones/carriers allow this without jailbreaking? What stores/carriers sell those phones to consumers?

Before I customize it, how do I get/build a fully functional current vanilla version? By fully functional I mean all of the things normally needed/expected by default (like the app store for instance).

Does each carrier post source to their builds so I can modify what the phone came with?

There are many developers on this site. Have ANY of you built Android from source and used that on your phone? How did it work out?

[nuclear_eclipse]

What phones/carriers allow this without jailbreaking? What stores/carriers sell those phones to consumers?

T-Mobile and my local carrier Cincinnati Bell are both happy to recommend and "sell"/refer you to a Nexus One. CBW even has a couple N1's on display in their premiere display case, and a rep even asked me about what ROM I used on my N1, and said he used CyanogenMod on his.

Does each carrier post source to their builds so I can modify what the phone came with?

The carriers aren't the ones writing the software; you'd have to talk with HTC, Motorola, Samsung about that. Some carriers make specific requests, like Sprint putting their NASCAR app on, or Verizon's exclusive Skype app, but that's an app, not Android.

Have ANY of you built Android from source and used that on your phone? How did it work out?

I've had multiple attempts over the past couple years to build my own Android ROM, most recently with Cyanogen's mass of repos on Github, but either I wasn't looking in the right spot, or there wasn't enough documentation for me to figure out how to build it all on my own, so I failed on that aspect.

However, MoDaCo forum has the concept of "kitchens" where you can customize what features you want to include/exclude from various ROMs, and allows you to generate "your own" ROM that you can then flash to your phone, and I personally find this extremely attractive, even if I don't use it for myself because I like what the "vanilla" Cyanogen build includes.

All that said, you do however have multiple valid points, and I don't disagree with you on any of them.

[runjake]

Except much of the good Android parts, hardware drivers, and applications aren't actually open source. It's a nice pipe dream, though.