Alibaba's Aliyun OS "not compatible with Android"
Staff Reporter 2012-09-17 16:57 (GMT+8)
Aliyun OS, developed by China's e-commerce giant Alibaba, has been criticized by Google as an incompatible Android environment which will cause malfunctions in the Android system. (File Photo/Xinhua)
Google announced last week that the Aliyun Operating System, made by China's Alibaba Cloud Computing, is not compatible with the Android system and would malfuncation with the Android OS.
Following the announcement, cooperation between Taiwan-based computer maker Acer and Alibaba, Chinese largest e-commerce company, and the parent company Alibaba Cloud Computing was put on hold, reports Shanghai-based First Financial Daily.
Google said that compatibility is the core of Android system to ensure consistency among developers, manufacturers and consumers. The deal between Acer and Alibaba could be a concern for the future of Android system, said Google.
Andy Rubin, senior vice president and creator of Android, said that Aliyun OS is obviously a modified version of the open source platform Android OS. Although free, consistency is the only way to make it accessible to everyone, said Rubin.
The incompatible Android version of Aliyun OS could damage the whole Android system, said Rubin, adding that different versions of Android in different devices would lead customers and developers to stop using the system.
Alibaba responded that Aliyun OS has its own virtual engine different the Android engine. The android applications and tools used by Aliyun OS were just for patches which allowed users to use the applications of a third party.
Some application programming interfaces of Google indeed are closed and many applications can only be used in Aliyun OS, said a Chinese Android user interface developer.
Rubin said that he recognized that the Aliyun OS was not a member of Android system and does not necessarily have to be compatible with Android. However, Aliyun OS uses the Android OS framework, environment and tools and applications, Rubin said.
