There’s some speculation whether Google will keep the Android (News - Alert) OS open source – especially as it is poised to get thousands of valuable patents.

In fact, a new report from The Street warns that Google’s pledge to keep the Android operating system open source, and apparently free for smartphones, could actually “hurt its bottom line.”

But Google CEO Larry Page (News - Alert) was clearly defensive of the company’s commitment to open source during the summer.

“We built Android as an open source platform and it will stay that way,” Page declared in August, according to The Street.

As it now stands, Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, but the deal was put on hold this week as European regulators asked for details. The deal also needs the approval of the U.S. Justice Department, before it goes through.

Looking forward, Page said Google’s  "acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google's patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies,” according to a report carried on TMCnet.

Google admits it may not gain much beyond patents from the deal, The Street said.

In addition, The Street reported that Google plans to license the Android OS to Motorola “as if it were any other customer, without exclusivity after the merger.”

But The Street asks if “committing Android as an open platform is the best option.”

Patent litigation threats could play a big role in the future. Consider these numbers reported by The Street from data compiled by Goldman Sachs. Apple has 35,706 patents. Microsoft has 78,555 patents. Google has 4,613 patents. “With Motorola Mobility, Google's patents would rise to 22,113 – potentially including key patents to keep litigation at bay,” The Street said.

Google’s approach appears successful. “Google open sources its operating system freely to handset makers like Samsung, LG, HTC (News - Alert) and Motorola Mobility in a push to drive Android adoption that will bolster revenue in adjacent search businesses,” The Street reports. Look at some of the numbers.  Google's Android market share during the third quarter more than doubled in the United States, to 57 percent, The Street reported citing data from IDC (News - Alert). Compare this to Research In Motion's Blackberry losing market share and Apple's iOS losing market share since 2010, The Street said.

“In the high end smartphone market it's about the operating system, not the hardware. Without the Android operating system, I don't think HTC or Samsung would have had the same success in smartphones,” Michael Genovese, an analyst at MKM Partners, told The Street.

There is still another question out there about whether Android is truly an open source operating system. For example, TMCnet’s Paula Bernier reported earlier this year that news stories were appearing which claimed that Google was “taking a firmer hand in controlling software tweaks, partnerships related to Android, and approvals.”

In addition, Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier recently reported that it’s “hard to make a strong case for Android as an open source project.”

“There's little opportunity for the millions of Android fans and potential hackers around the world to influence Android development unless they happen to work for Google or one of its partner companies,” he said when compiling his top 10 “Most Important Open Source (News - Alert) Projects of 2011,” and leaving Android off the list. “It's great that Google releases the code, but it's more of a ‘source open’ project than an open source project.”

Yet, in an April 6 blog, Andy Rubin, Google’s vice president of engineering, said in an official statement, “We remain firmly committed to providing Android as an open source platform across many device types.”