The $149 Augen GenTouch78 Android tablet being sold in the US by Kmart is using unlicensed core Android apps such as the Android Market on the tablet, a Google spokesperson reportedly told Laptop Magazine. [UPDATE: Augen admits mistake, will remove apps from future tablets.]
“Augen included proprietary Google software in their product via an unauthorized vendor. Google only licenses its software to partners and OHA [Open Handset Alliance] members directly,” Laptop quotes the Google spokesperson as saying (Laptop doesn’t say if this was a phone interview or an email – we’ve emailed Google for confirmation).
While Android is open source, certain core apps that Google produces – such as the Android Market app – are proprietary software, and vendors must get a license from Google to run those apps, and Google is saying that in this case, the tablet does not have a license.
Google didn’t provide Laptop with any more details about who the “unauthorized vendor” might be, or what actions – if any – Google plans to take. The report speculates that, “since fans of the Archos 5 have been hacking the Android Market and other core apps onto that tablet for months, it seems just as likely that the manufacturer could have taken similar steps.”
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We’ve also emailed Kmart for a comment, and will update if either the retail chain or Google get back to us.
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