TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Google is changing their policy on Android:

Over the last couple of months Google has reached out to the major carriers and device makers backing its mobile operating system with a message: There will be no more willy-nilly tweaks to the software. No more partnerships formed outside of Google’s purview. From now on, companies hoping to receive early access to Google’s most up-to-date software will need approval of their plans. And they will seek that approval from Andy Rubin, the head of Google’s Android group.

That’s certainly good for Android users, but only insofar as it is moving Android closer to iOS in maintaining a uniform experience across the platform.

So, let’s recount what Google’s done: they released Android with the policy that phone makers and carriers could build on top of Android or alter it however they wanted—because it’s “open”—and that’s precisely what manufacturers and carriers did.

They embraced Android so strongly that Android is the leading smartphone platform in the U.S., and now that’s happened, Google is revoking that policy. They are now calling the shots on Android, and the manufacturers and carriers will carry them out.

Funny how that works. It isn’t quite one man, one phone and one carrier. But it certainly is one company.