Google Android Group Shows Cracks As Partners Seek Alternatives

[::Hitesh:: 1,763]

April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc.’s mobile-phone alliance is showing signs of strain.

After Verizon Wireless scrapped plans to offer Google’s Nexus One handset this week, Motorola Inc. said it opted for a mapping software other than Google’s version. Samsung Electronics Co. has developed an alternative mobile-phone operating system, and HTC Corp. is considering follow suit.

By shunning the Nexus One and adding rival applications to phones, the handset makers and carriers may loosen Google’s control over how customers use wireless devices. The company worked with partners three years ago to create Android, an operating system that the industry could share. Recent setbacks may hamper Google’s efforts to replicate the success of its Web search engine in the burgeoning mobile advertising market.

“Everybody is afraid of Google having too much power,” said Carl Howe, an analyst at Yankee Group, a Boston-based research firm. “I don’t think anyone wants to say, ‘In addition to 70 percent of the search traffic in the world, we’re going to give them a whole lot more business.’”

Android’s share of the U.S. smartphone market jumped to 9 percent in February from 5.2 percent at the end of 2009, according to research firm ComScore Inc. in Reston, Virginia. It ranks behind Research In Motion Ltd., Apple Inc.’s iPhone and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile.

Pick and Choose

Google plays down the partner moves, saying Android is valuable because it gives users the freedom to pick alternatives.

“Various people in the mobile ecosystem can choose which part of the software they want to use,” said Anthony House, a spokesman for the Mountain View, California-based company. “The competition is good for consumers.”

Google offers Android for free, seeking to make money from mobile advertising in searches and other applications. Sales from mobile ads in the U.S. will more than triple to $1.56 billion by 2013 from the end of last year, according to New York-based research firm EMarketer Inc.

Android partners are increasingly willing to use mobile software made by rivals, giving Google fewer opportunities to sell ads. Motorola, which started selling Android-powered phones last year, said yesterday that it will use location and navigation technology from Skyhook Wireless in the devices. Motorola had relied on Google’s location service.

Christy Wyatt, a vice president at Schaumburg, Illinois- based Motorola, said programs from both Google and Skyhook remain on the phones. Motorola is not moving away from Google, and the choice of Skyhook is “more of a deepening of the technology we have to work with,” she said.

Verizon’s Decision

Still, the move indicates an unwillingness to become too reliant on a single software provider.

“You want to control your own destiny,” said Will Stofega, program director at researcher IDC.

A day before Motorola’s announcement, Verizon Wireless retreated from plans to sell the Nexus One, the first Google- branded phone. The company plans to focus instead on other Android-powered models.

Verizon Wireless, the top U.S. wireless carrier, had said in January that it would carry the Nexus One, adding it to a roster of Android phones that includes devices from HTC and Motorola. Verizon is not part of the Open Handset Alliance, the group formed in 2007 to support Android.

“This is a competitive business, and there’s value in competition,” said Brenda Raney, spokeswoman for Basking Ridge, New Jersey-based Verizon Wireless, which is co-owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group Plc. “Wireless phones are not one-size-fits-all.”

Looking Elsewhere

HTC, maker of the Droid Eris and Droid Incredible phones, said earlier this month that it’s studying whether to create another operating system. HTC, based in Taoyuan, Taiwan, was the first manufacturer to release an Android handset. The company also uses Microsoft’s Windows Mobile software.

Samsung, the world’s second-largest mobile-phone maker, introduced an operating system called Bada earlier this year. It will use the software on its Wave handset. The company has Android on other phones, such as the Galaxy.

“As others compete with Google and make their own operating systems, it dilutes the vision,” said Allen Nogee, an analyst at Scottsdale, Arizona-based In-Stat LLC. “Android will be just one of several operating systems going forward.”

Keith Nowak, a spokesman for HTC, said the company still has a serious commitment to Android and its “mantra is to investigate anything.” Sungin Cho, a spokeswoman for Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung, didn’t return a call seeking comment.

Technical Glitches

The biggest challenge for Google may be to improve its software and ensure that it can adapt to the mobile market, said Maribel Lopez, an analyst at Lopez Research LLC in San Francisco. Google is on its fourth revision of Android in the past year, in part because of software glitches and missing features, she said.

Google says it’s pleased with demand for phones with its software. More than 60,000 Android phones are being sold and activated a day, Senior Vice President Jeff Huber said during Google’s first-quarter earnings call this month.

Still, a rising number of Android iterations may make it harder for developers to create high-quality applications for phones based on the operating system, diminishing the brand, Lopez said.

“This is nightmarishly complicated,” said Lopez, who’s followed the mobile industry for more than 18 years. “There’s no consistency across the platforms, there’s no consistency across devices, and there’s no consistency across the application ecosystem.”

[ami1 237]

The analyst are needlessly worried.

Google's only objective in launching Android, Chrome, Chrome OS etc. is to ensure competition in the market so that no other company (MS/Apple/Telcos/etc) can dominate it enough to become a gatekeeper to google's apps and services on Browsers, PCs, Mobiles etc.

Due to their offerings other companies are forced to include features in their apps that google wants like faster javascript in browsers, good browsers on phone OS, operator independent phones (still some time till they achieve this and progress to VOIP/Wimax>google voice) etc.

They neither want large market shares nor want to make any money on these projects. They just develop features which are good for google services and market forces then work to make others also include such features in their products.

Otherwise, telecom operators or OS cos may have started restricting google services on various devices or making them run slow till google partnered them or paid them.

[dkaile 1,051]

An operating system which has garnered nearly 10% market share in 1 year of its launch is a big threat to major players... All these news are placed to create doubts by the competitors...

[Sadikk 301]

No worries they wont be able to take Google down..

if google start licensing it free in china.. we see better VFM devices emerging in market.. Google wants to try biggies in mess like Motorola, HTC, Samsung first before going for cheap competition.. (I say even Nokia and plam shud have gone for android, they might be sitting on better financial quarters instead.. )

they are too big to be ignored...

just that OEMs dont want to depend and give monopoly to google now..

Its too late champs... Google gonna hit yawl hard in coming 5 years...

[HetalDP 947]

When Android Announce in 2007 and when First Device hit in 21th Nov 2008 I was first to get it in my circle.

And i was Damn Sure it the next Big OS to watch. and its just a beginning

[Sadikk 301]

^^^

I know and how u convinced me to throw my blackberry and wanted to arrange DEMO of android on G1.. lol..

and now am on it.. Thanks to u..

[Bablus 66]

Its the future of mobile phones.. I wonder whats happening to Palm..

[kshah 452]

Google is becoming threat, too much of dependence on one pro vider for variety of services is dangerous. Also Google voice is threat to revenue of Telco so certainly they get out off. Android is good Os but it will find great resistance from device manuf

acturer as well as Telco.

[Mufaddal 678]

^^^

i have similar views

[dkaile 1,051]

^

I dont agree... Google has never left its openness and has found a perfect business solution which is consumer centric unlike other manufacturers... they earn from the advertisement model rather than the os itself...

[kshah 452]

I always believe Google not what it appear. It knows what consumer wants and business model is not within understanding of common man. It's known for challenging leaders under hood of openness and eventually become monopoly. Anyway our view do not have any impact on Google or android future.

[tanveer 59]

It may be a monopoly but to end users like us the products are always free. In fact they have always challenged the monopolies of Yahoo and MS.

[Greatest 55]

This is the second step towards doom of Google by 2018.. (I remember the first step was of Employees inside of Google... I had mentioned this earlier somewhere in rimweb only.. dont remember now.. )

[dkaile 1,051]

^

but we are all already doomed to all die by 2012; so who will be there to witness doom of google in 2018... lol... these doom theorists I tell you...

[Sadikk 301]

Google is too big and understand the consumers need... just 50k 1GBPS connection and each state is US of A is licking Google to start it in their state.. they know what they are doing..

i can always depend on monopoly if they give VFM and openness.. remember heavy Yahoo messenger mostly spams... and rude LIVE messenger.. they are running for their money now.. Google got success cos they give it for free... POP3, Imap.. sala yahoo use to charge for that with 5mb disk space.. i still remember they use to say if u upgrade u get whopping 30mb.. lol whopping 30 mb my A**...

Google is doing things differently.. and once one guy go fast different way.. all the guys in slow lane try to make cartel to block.. this is nothing but just a block. which Google will surely jump and become giant alone..

all this years i just hated Google once.. when they claim china for hacking.. which is too much politicized by US government just to make china look like Bad guys..

[SumitVerma 187]

^

All true!