We know that Apple will add an app store to iTunes very soon so that people can buy and download new applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Google’s going with a similar solution for Android, and is said that it will create a central storefront for commercial apps for handsets running the search giant’s new Linuxy OS.
More interestingly, Google has said that handset makers using Android will have full access to the guts of the OS, meaning they can pull stuff they don’t want out or put stuff that’s not there in. That means that phone makers can customize every part of their phones while keeping interoperability. That compromise is what gives Android an edge, and what makes it a real threat to Apple and the iPhone.