
Google Faces Enormous Forces in Fight Over the Future of Android - simas
http://www.wired.com/2015/04/google-faces-enormous-forces-fight-future-android/
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roosterjm2k2
I can't fathom why Google is named in this, but not Apple? Android can be
released with whatever software you want on it... see chinese phones, or the
kindles... You just cant bundle it with google services or play store if you
also try to bundle third party services. Its a choice, not a forced decision,
and users can install those later if they want. On iOS, apple tells you what
you can install, how it can be used, and they can change those rules on a whim
and destroy businesses - and a core value of their app ecosystem is that you
are not allowed to create apps that compete with them, see the new removal of
Pebble apps since the release of the Apple Watch....

The EU is backwards as hell...

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nkassis
My understanding is Google also blocks hardware vendors from working with
alternative android based OSes. They accomplish this by threatening the
hardware vendors with not licensing Google's android version with Google's
apps if they release another android phone with say Kindle OS.

That seems to fall under anti-trust behavior to me. (I'm not a legal expert).
Using your strength in one market (search, email, youtube...) gain and protect
market share in another (Mobile OS).

~~~
emodendroket
Is that really the case? HTC is releasing Nexus devices and Windows phone at
the same time, and they also released the "Facebook phone." I can't imagine
they'd be jeopardizing their Android business over Windows phone or FB Home if
that were a real concern.

~~~
tashoecraft
I'm no expert on this, but from what I remember, if you produce an android
phone running normal stock android, then you cannot make another phone and
fork the OS. So while HTC can make Nexus and windows phones, they cannot make
Nexus and their own phone running their own port of android that ditches all
of Googles apps. It's Googles way of locking Hardware manufactures in and
preventing competition. Hence lawsuits.

~~~
AJ007
You are correct.

Good stuff from Ben Evans about this [http://ben-
evans.com/benedictevans/2015/3/15/android-taxonom...](http://ben-
evans.com/benedictevans/2015/3/15/android-taxonomies)

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pjbrunet
"Anyone can use Android without Google"

Really? Then why can't I uninstall Google Plus, Play Music, Play Newstand,
etc? These are "system" apps. Remember when Microsoft made IE a system app?
That didn't end well.

~~~
alwaysdoit
By "anyone" here, they mean manufacturers. And even you could flash your phone
if you wanted to, unless restrictions have been placed (which is done by the
carriers, not by Google).

~~~
pjbrunet
OK that makes a lot more sense, thanks for clarification.

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magicalist
> _It’s the EU’s biggest antitrust action against an American tech company
> since it levied charged against Microsoft and its Windows operating system
> in 2000, which eventually resulted in huge fines for the company and notable
> changes to its technology. This time, the tables have turned, but the case
> is playing out in similar ways._

Er, the investigation they just announced is the biggest antitrust "action"
since Microsoft? Oh Wired, you remain as lazy as ever.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. It's been over 5 years since
the Google search investigation first became public knowledge[1], and it'll be
another few years before it's resolved. Compared to web search, the mobile
market is going to be changing far, far faster over the next 5 to 7 years.

[1]
[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/technology/19antitrust.htm...](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/technology/19antitrust.html?_r=0)

~~~
pistle
There is no mention of Android in that 2010 article. The Android issue is the
new announcement. Scale claims are Wired's.

~~~
magicalist
> _There is no mention of Android in that 2010 article_

That's what I said?

> It's been over 5 years since the Google _search_ investigation first became
> public knowledge[1]

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pasta_2
What comes around goes around.

[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/technology/companies/25goo...](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/technology/companies/25google.html)

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wiggumz
Google should be thinking in terms of switching android away from Java toward
either Objective-C, which is very popular, or C++. This would be a very large
and costly change but the longer they wait the higher the costs rise.
Furthermore the fact that Google is not using Objective-C means that two teams
are always needed for mobile development in most companies... Whereas if they
use Objective-C one team could code for both android and iOS.

Alas like most people who work in tech Googlers have trouble questioning
assumptions.

~~~
AJ007
More likely Google is going to push toward Chromium and web-as-platform. This
can be somewhat timed as hardware vendors switch over to Google-free Android.
This will be the second move to undermine Apple.

This should work for most everything short of things that must have very low
latency like VR. Keep an eye on Google's continued expansion in to telecom.

~~~
rockdoe
Chrome as a platform, yes. Web as a platform, no. The come from the latter and
are going to the former.

~~~
AJ007
This sounds plausible. Has there been any examples of Google pushing against
comparability standards with other browsers?

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vfclists
After having stiffed Microsoft, the EU has turned its attention to Google.
Business as usual. You are talking about an organization that can't even
balance its own budget, going about left and right extorting money from
whoever seems to have a lot of it. Sooner or later Appple will be next.

~~~
Oletros
> You are talking about an organization that can't even balance its own
> budget, going about left and right extorting money from whoever seems to
> have a lot of it.

What are you talking about?

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vfclists
The EU are simply going after a business with lots of money. Most of the
organizations complaining about Google are big companies most of which have
been targetted and fined, or will be fined by the EU at one time or the other.
The EU takes its turn extorting them one after the other.

It isn't as though in all these complaints it is just business as usual. In
the form of Oracle you are talking about a company with feels APIs should be
copyrighted, and in Microsoft you are talking about a business which gobbles
up patents for licensing like there is no tomorrow. None of the major
complainers are boy scouts themselves, and neither is the EU for that matter.

~~~
Oletros
Ah, you're just talking nonsense

