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Google delays smartphone launch in China
20 January 2010
Google has told China Unicom, Samsung and Motorola that it will delay the launch of Google-branded Android handsets in the Chinese market
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Comment: It’s not yet clear whether Google’s dispute with China affects the whole Android platform — which, though strictly open-source and thus theoretically outside the control of any one company, has been championed and promoted by Google. And, given that many of the world’s handsets are made in China, that could impact the success of Android in competition with other platforms.
Google has postponed the launches of two Android-based mobile handsets in the Chinese market. The new handsets were being introduced in partnership with China Unicom and were set to feature phones designed by Samsung and Motorola.
Samsung’s GT-i6500U handset would have had Google’s logo. The Samsung handset and Motorola’s XT701 devices would have used Google applications.
The move suggests that the Android-based platform, the open source mobile operating system created by Google to permit developers from handset makers and from mobile operators to develop customised handsets, could likely be affected by the search engine company’s warning that it will pull out of China.
Google is reconsidering the deal after it faced an attack by hackers out of China on its corporate systems. The search engine is planning to pull out of the country if it is not allowed to run its service without further state censoring. GTB