[nitrogen]

Google essentially gives Android for free. Just yesterday I saw Nexus S "free" (with 2-year contract) on main Google page!

You can get similar contracts with the iPhone. That has absolutely nothing to do with Google, and everything to do with carrier subsidies for phones.

I understand that you can switch your default search engine to something other than Google, but most people use the defaults.

The default search engine for Windows phones is Bing. The solution, if there is a problem, isn't to make Google charge manufacturers for Android. It's to make all phones ask which search engine should be used when you first power up the phone, just as the EU did with web browsers. I still don't see how that relates to the patent issues at hand.

Windows users could have also deleted IE and installed Netscape. But with free IE pre-installed and working, most did not bother. Netscape got killed.

This isn't very relevant, but with the level of integration between Windows and IE, it was not possible for the average user to delete IE.

[incosta]

Of course it has nothing to do with Google. And the fact the "get free Nexus S today" ended up on Googe's main page was just complete coincidence! Google did not even know about it:)

Here's the main question: we both agree that G gives away Android to phone manufactures for very little. Below the actual cost. You even pointed out it's not always tied to Google search and services. So why, why Google does this? Out of their great heart? Think about it - and perhaps you will see their motives are not that idealistic.

[nitrogen]

I look at Android as I do any other open source project. I believe in the right to give something away for free, for whatever motive. Telling Google they can't give Android away for free is like telling me I can't give away whatever I've uploaded to GitHub for free. It's just a different, but accepted, way of releasing software. RedHat makes money by selling support and proprietary utilities for use with its Linux distribution. Google makes money on Android in much the same way.

Many of these same arguments came up when Microsoft was complaining about Linux being Free. My reasoning is the same now as it was then.

[incosta]

Google is making money by providing support and utilities for Android? This is something new to me. They never told anyone except you?

[nitrogen]

As I understand it there are some closed source Google apps that cell carriers or manufacturers can license. They also make money from mobile advertising. It's similar to RedHat in the sense that they make their money on services related to the product they give away for free.