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The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android

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Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android

#301

Post by ocdtrekkie »

TheOperator wrote: post #158
harryf wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s possible that Google cutting off Huawei will actually backfire, because it makes having a viable alternative to Android a MUST HAVE instead of just NICE TO HAVE. Perhaps it’s possible to resurrect Blackberry 10 ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry_10 ) for example, which seemed to be an impressive piece of engineering that got trampled by Blackberrys failing business. I played with a demo once that could…

>It’s possible that Google cutting off Huawei will actually backfire, because it makes having a viable alternative to Android a MUST HAVE instead of just NICE TO HAVE. I got the impression that the United States forced their hand.

Yeah, the narrative on a lot of these stories "Google bans Huawei from Android", "Microsoft drops Huawei laptop from store", etc. are kinda silly, as the headlines suggest these companies had anything to do with it. They're following the law.

Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android

#302

Post by pvinis »

pizza wrote: post #24
baybal2 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google bought this platform with every dollar invested over more than a decade, they didn't do this only so that Apple had a competitor, but so that THEY had control over mobile eyeballs. Google's biggest trick was developers. They leveraged the decaying state of Java, and it being the default CS language in a lot of places. They simple showed a more attractive opportunity to tenths of thousands of Java devs stuck…

Makes me think whoever comes up with a mainstreamed way to do cross-platform mobile apps in Python will easily capture a large share of recent college grads, too, then.

Ah that's easy. Just get python to js with wasm, then use react native.

That would be interesting to see!

Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android

#303

Post by JohnFen »

qwertydog wrote: post #75
EGreg wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t Android open source? So why can’t Huawei simply fork it?

I think the main issue is the play store is off limits i.e. no existing android apps

I don't think that the lack of Google Play would be a huge problem. I use Android devices in the US and don't use Google Play.

Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android

#304

Post by seabrookmx »

bregma wrote: post #223
rickdeckard wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BB10 is based on QNX platform, I strongly doubt that QNX is independent from any US assets, patents, licenses, so moving from Android to BB10 is just "more of the same"

QNX developer here. I don't think what you're saying is true. QNX has patents registered in the USA, and in other countries, but that's hardly relevant. It's a Canadian company owned by a Canadian corporation. BB10, on the other hand, is dead and buried. It would be easier to port something like UBPort's Ubuntu Touch to QNX as an alternative to Android.

What's QNX used for nowadays? Car infotainment systems? Anything else standout?

Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android

#305

Post by rchaud »

cameronbrown wrote: post #289
rchaud wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The purpose of regulation is to change the environment to allow for a more level playing field. Where would Spotify have been if the EC didn't force MS to unbundle Windows Media Player from installs of Win XP in 2004? For those who don't remember, WMP 9 already had streaming radio via the MSN entertainment arm. Competition doesn't happen overnight. The changes need to be in place for some period of time before entrep…

This completely disregards mobile - without which Spotify was completely irrelevant. Un-bundling WMP, in the long run, did virtually nothing.

Spotify started in 2008 with 40 million tracks and desktop and web clients only. Back then mobile streaming was a non-entity as the iOS and Android app stores had not launched.

So the business case for Spotify was very much focused on desktop users, where WMP would have been the dominant competitor had it not been for the Microsoft case.

Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android

#307

Post by sureaboutthis »

Roritharr wrote: post #9

Google invested Billions into Android. Samsung tried to hedge for this by building Tizen(Bada) and realized how much needed to be invested to get an Android competitor going, so they kept the development going, but focused for their Smartwatches, as this would have to be a "if the worst happens" plan, not something that could be a profitable venture. LG has the Palm/HP borne WebOS for their TVs, i suspect with a simi…

iow, Google did what any company would do in the competitive marketplace--as they should.

Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android

#308

Post by manjunaths »

Ultramanoid wrote: post #291
jackpeterfletch wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you message people? SMS only?

Mostly E-mail. ( We had mail in phones in Japan way before iOS or Android. SMS has always looked like a regression if you ask me. )

You could use signal for messaging. But why not SMS? It is not like text messaging is owned by anyone like WhatsApp or Telegram.

I found that my only requirement for a smart phone is the Uber and Lyft apps. If I can get somehow free of them I can switch to a Nokia 1100 and be happy.

Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android

#309

Post by jessaustin »

TsomArp wrote: post #97
noselasd wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both are true. Google cut off Huawei because the US government told them to.

It is not like they had an option. They are a US based company. They must do it.

IANAL and it's not clear to me exactly what method was used to "force" Google. We ignore the FUD over Huawei's telco equipment because that has precisely nothing to do with their smartphones. What's left, then? Sure, they probably have all sorts of monitoring tools built into their phones, but so does every other smartphone manufacturer. What made Huawei different, and what legal instrument conveyed this difference to Google's lawyers?

Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android

#310

Post by amelius »

harryf wrote: post #34
Roritharr wrote: post #9

Google invested Billions into Android. Samsung tried to hedge for this by building Tizen(Bada) and realized how much needed to be invested to get an Android competitor going, so they kept the development going, but focused for their Smartwatches, as this would have to be a "if the worst happens" plan, not something that could be a profitable venture. LG has the Palm/HP borne WebOS for their TVs, i suspect with a simi…

It’s possible that Google cutting off Huawei will actually backfire, because it makes having a viable alternative to Android a MUST HAVE instead of just NICE TO HAVE. Perhaps it’s possible to resurrect Blackberry 10 ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry_10 ) for example, which seemed to be an impressive piece of engineering that got trampled by Blackberrys failing business. I played with a demo once that could…

> I played with a demo once that could run Android apps

But of course Google would never allow BB users to access the play store ...

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