Let's get one thing clear right off the bat - Google creates Android, but Android is not Google. The base layer of Android is open source and can be used by anyone for anything. As such, we've seen Android be forked by companies like Amazon, Xiaomi, and Baidu for use on smartphones; and, the platform has been forked by companies like OUYA for use in other market segments like gaming. I'd like to put forward an idea here: the most commonly used version of Android is actually a fork by Google itself...Source: http://www.phonearena.com/news/The-Google-Android-fork-Google-Play-services-Android-4.4-and-the-Nexus-Experience_id48229
