Recent announcements are sketching a slight shift away from the Android platform.
Bloomberg (via BusinessWeek) reports that Google's Android alliance is showing signs of strain. Although more than 60,000 Android-based mobile phones are sold and activated each day, there is now an obvious shift within partners to steer away from Google's mobile OS... or at least, place the main focus on a variety of options. Verizon Wireless, which currently offers the popular Motorola Droid, is a prime example of the shift, declaring on Wednesday that it will not carry the Nexus One smartphone as previously intended.
So what's going on? Carl Howe, an analyst at Yankee Group, a Boston-based research firm, said that manufacturers are afraid of giving Google too much power. "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,'" he said. The fear is backed by Google's considerable jump in the mobile market, rising from 5.2-percent at the end of 2009 to 9-percent in February.
On the Motorola front, the company isn't exactly moving away from the Android platform. Instead, it announced that it will use location and navigation technology provided by Skyhood Wireless in future devices, territory previously dominated by Google's offering. HTC, which currently provides the Droid Eris and Droid Incredible, may develop a custom OS internally. Samsung already took this step, revealing its Bada mobile OS earlier this year.
Recent events may make the shift a bit more drastic. Wednesday Microsoft and HTC announced a deal that would allow the mobile phone manufacturer to use Android on its devices in exchange for royalties. Microsoft claims--as does Apple--that Google's Android OS infringes on their trademarks. Phone manufacturers could eventually deem the OS as problematic on both a legal and financial standpoint, and abandon Android altogether.
For now, there's still demand for Android. Google is currently playing "catch up" with the firmware, adding missing features and ironing out numerous bugs. A spokesperson for HTC said that the company still has a serious commitment to the Google platform, a good sign to say the least.
Bloomberg (via BusinessWeek) reports that Google's Android alliance is showing signs of strain. Although more than 60,000 Android-based mobile phones are sold and activated each day, there is now an obvious shift within partners to steer away from Google's mobile OS... or at least, place the main focus on a variety of options. Verizon Wireless, which currently offers the popular Motorola Droid, is a prime example of the shift, declaring on Wednesday that it will not carry the Nexus One smartphone as previously intended.So what's going on? Carl Howe, an analyst at Yankee Group, a Boston-based research firm, said that manufacturers are afraid of giving Google too much power. "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,'" he said. The fear is backed by Google's considerable jump in the mobile market, rising from 5.2-percent at the end of 2009 to 9-percent in February.
On the Motorola front, the company isn't exactly moving away from the Android platform. Instead, it announced that it will use location and navigation technology provided by Skyhood Wireless in future devices, territory previously dominated by Google's offering. HTC, which currently provides the Droid Eris and Droid Incredible, may develop a custom OS internally. Samsung already took this step, revealing its Bada mobile OS earlier this year.
Recent events may make the shift a bit more drastic. Wednesday Microsoft and HTC announced a deal that would allow the mobile phone manufacturer to use Android on its devices in exchange for royalties. Microsoft claims--as does Apple--that Google's Android OS infringes on their trademarks. Phone manufacturers could eventually deem the OS as problematic on both a legal and financial standpoint, and abandon Android altogether.
For now, there's still demand for Android. Google is currently playing "catch up" with the firmware, adding missing features and ironing out numerous bugs. A spokesperson for HTC said that the company still has a serious commitment to the Google platform, a good sign to say the least.
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