Google will continue to offer Android for free

SMARTPHONE SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Google will continue to offer its Android operating system for free, according to the firm's executive chairman Eric Schmidt.

Schmidt said at a press conference today, "We will run (Motorola) sufficiently independently so it will not violate the openness of Android."

According to the Wall Street Journal, during his tour of South Korea, Schmidt said that Google's upcoming acquisition of Motorola will not have an impact on its other Android partners.

Schmidt also criticised Microsoft's litigation against phone makers that are using Android, saying, "Microsoft is not telling the truth on this issue, and they are using tactics to scare people because they are scared of the success of Android."

During the conference, the Google chairman spoke highly of South Korea's broadband infrastructure. He said that the country's developers are also making progress in creating software for Android and announced a new program for developers aimed at the local market. µ