Google and Alibaba Continue Warring Over Acer Phone
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Google and Alibaba Continue Warring Over Acer Phone
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Re: Google and Alibaba Continue Warring Over Acer Phone
#2Here's my own personal perspective.
I am very thoroughly in Apple's camp. I have owned several iPhones, an iPad, and more Macs than I can count. This is what I use personally, and what I program for.
Although I don't use Android myself, I'm glad it exists. It keeps Apple on their toes. I don't think Apple will make much of a dent in the Android ecosystem, despite the fact that Steve Jobs apparently wanted to.
But now it's turning out that Google faces some of the same issues as Apple, doesn't it? The Android ecosystem is generally more open than iOS, but now we see that it has its limits.
Personally, I think Google is doing the right thing here. If this secondary phone OS really does contain a lot of Android frameworks, as they claim, then I think Google is right to be upset about this.
Interesting to see what the fan base's general reaction is going to be to this.
Re: Google and Alibaba Continue Warring Over Acer Phone
#3My understanding, outside of corporate spin: Google is essentially preventing Acer and others that benefit from OHA to do any work with the likes of Amazon and Alibaba that use an Android fork. You work on any non-Google approved Android and you are frozen out of Android, even if they are different product. Do I understand this correctly?
If so, I do not like it.
Re: Google and Alibaba Continue Warring Over Acer Phone
#4Here is a statement of Andy Rubin on this:
https://plus.google.com/112599748506977857728/posts/hRcCi5xg...
Apparently, they even have pirated google apps. How Alibaba/Acer claim moral high ground on this is beyond me.
Re: Google and Alibaba Continue Warring Over Acer Phone
#5Andy Rubin:
>So there’s really no disputing that Aliyun is based on the Android platform and takes advantage of all the hard work that’s gone into that platform by the OHA.
>So if you want to benefit from the Android ecosystem, then make the choice to be compatible. Its easy, free, and we’ll even help you out. But if you don’t want to be compatible, then don’t expect help from OHA members that are all working to support and build a unified Android ecosystem.
How "open" is something if you can't fork it and be left in peace to negotiate with the OEMs to ship it? Aliyun is already missing the Google Play Store and the official Google apps.
The "don't expect help from OHA" line is especially ironic given that Acer scheduled a press conference to announce making Aliyun phones before being strong armed by Google into canceling it.
Acer really had no choice, Android has 67% of the market and iOS has the other 30%. Losing early access to code and access to the Google Play store and Google apps will basically kill their handset business because the competition like Samsung, HTC, Sony, Motorola etc. will have those advantages.
They would basically have to quit the handset market outside China to make Aliyun phones for the Chinese market. Forking is a fundamental tenet and in many cases the lifeblood of open source. If you don't want that, put that in the license and do not call it "open" instead of artificial after-the-fact restrictions like this. If you make something open, people are going to eventually do something with it that you may not like.
What next, forbid retailers from selling Aliyun phones or threaten to pull all Android devices from them?
The only differences I see between this and Microsoft's OEM restrictions against other OSes in the 90s is that Android is not a monopoly(though it is effectively one for Acer), and that Android is open source(again, Acer doesn't really have much leverage to go on it's own with Android code).
Re: Google and Alibaba Continue Warring Over Acer Phone
#6Andy Rubin: >So there’s really no disputing that Aliyun is based on the Android platform and takes advantage of all the hard work that’s gone into that platform by the OHA. >So if you want to benefit from the Android ecosystem, then make the choice to be compatible. Its easy, free, and we’ll even help you out. But if you don’t want to be compatible, then don’t expect help from OHA members that are all working to supp…
It's really quite simple. Acer is part of the OHA, so they have to follow OHA rules. It has nothing to do with Android, and everything to do with the OHA. If they want to use Android in any way they want, they can leave the OHA.
Re: Google and Alibaba Continue Warring Over Acer Phone
#7Andy Rubin: >So there’s really no disputing that Aliyun is based on the Android platform and takes advantage of all the hard work that’s gone into that platform by the OHA. >So if you want to benefit from the Android ecosystem, then make the choice to be compatible. Its easy, free, and we’ll even help you out. But if you don’t want to be compatible, then don’t expect help from OHA members that are all working to supp…
It's really quite simple. Acer is part of the OHA, so they have to follow OHA rules. It has nothing to do with Android, and everything to do with the OHA. If they want to use Android in any way they want, they can leave the OHA.
The chilling effect on Android forks is the same, while it is funny that the Open Handset Alliance doesn't seem to be really open. All the major phone OEMs are part of it, meaning that Android forks will have hardware and marketing support cut off from them.
>If they want to use Android in any way they want, they can leave the OHA.
And basically quit the handset market, as described in the GP post. Isn't that like saying if Compaq wanted to ship BeOS or dual boot machine, it could forgo getting the OEM incentives that Dell, HP etc. received from Microsoft?
Re: Google and Alibaba Continue Warring Over Acer Phone
#8Here's my own personal perspective. I am very thoroughly in Apple's camp. I have owned several iPhones, an iPad, and more Macs than I can count. This is what I use personally, and what I program for. Although I don't use Android myself, I'm glad it exists. It keeps Apple on their toes. I don't think Apple will make much of a dent in the Android ecosystem, despite the fact that Steve Jobs apparently wanted to. But now…
Personally, I think Google is doing the right thing here. If this secondary phone OS really does contain a lot of Android frameworks, as they claim, then I think Google is right to be upset about this.
If Google open sourced them, boo-hoo. If not they can sue Alibaba.
Android got a lot of benefit of the doubt for being open source, now they're changing their tune. Not good at all.
If Android runs 67% anti-trust isn't going to be happy at all, imagine if MS had threatened Samsung, Sony etc with the loss of any Windows licensing if they worked with Android. It's similar enough
Re: Google and Alibaba Continue Warring Over Acer Phone
#9Andy Rubin: >So there’s really no disputing that Aliyun is based on the Android platform and takes advantage of all the hard work that’s gone into that platform by the OHA. >So if you want to benefit from the Android ecosystem, then make the choice to be compatible. Its easy, free, and we’ll even help you out. But if you don’t want to be compatible, then don’t expect help from OHA members that are all working to supp…
The problem is that Aliyun doesn't simply fork Android and run it's own App Store (as Amazon). It instead tries to rewrite bits, use some bits and create a Frankenstein type monster. Again, that's no real issue. However the real issue is that it's claiming to be Android Compatible, which means it's attempting to market itself off of Android's back. Add that with the fact they've stolen apps and apps written for Aliyun don't work on Android and we're all in a right pickle.
If anyone wants to fork Android, they're free to. But don't claim Android compatibility after messing with the APIs. Basically Aliyun would be a leach for Android platform and Google has the right to throw it's weight around in that regard.
Once again, Amazon doesn't mention Android when talking about the Kindle Fire and they've never heard a peep out of Google or Andy Rubin. If Acer are that convinced that Google is doing them wrong, they're more than free to leave the OHA and start having press conferences left, right and centre.
Re: Google and Alibaba Continue Warring Over Acer Phone
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's really quite simple. Acer is part of the OHA, so they have to follow OHA rules. It has nothing to do with Android, and everything to do with the OHA. If they want to use Android in any way they want, they can leave the OHA.
The chilling effect on Android forks is the same, while it is funny that the Open Handset Alliance doesn't seem to be really open. All the major phone OEMs are part of it, meaning that Android forks will have hardware and marketing support cut off from them. >If they want to use Android in any way they want, they can leave the OHA. And basically quit the handset market, as described in the GP post. Isn't that like sa…
In the same way that CyanogenMod does? Around the time of Jellybean's launch, Google released the PDK which made it easier and less intrusive to overlay the Android source code. As a result alpha builds of CyanogenMod 10 were in the wild before the Nexus S (or any branded device) released a Jellybean device. In fact, HTC still haven't even managed to get Jellybean on to their current flagship device. The only people stopping/slowing-down hardware support at this moment in time is the OEMs.