A walled garden that is. Just when I start to believe in the "openness" that the carriers brag about, I read this article. The short story is that Verizon replaced the default search on the Samsung Fascinate (Galaxy S), the latest handset with Android, to Bing (Microsoft's competing product) from Google. The darling of Silicon Valley pours hours of blood, sweat and tears into building Android, with its first priority to promote Google search anywhere and everywhere on the phone. Android phones even have one soft key, out of four, dedicated to Google Search. It has gotten to the point where manufacturers have adopted this layout as standard to not confuse consumers too much. Microsoft is using Google's technology to generate web searches on Bing and simultaneously stealing market share from Google. I must praise Microsoft for a brilliant tactical move with this latest blow to the core competencies of Google. The giant from Redmond probably overpaid, but it made a strong competitive statement encroaching on Google territory.
Although, my gripe resulting from this strategic move is directed squarely at Verizon. Why does Big Red think it is okay to go back to confining its customers to Walled Gardens, which were smashed down by consumers only a short while ago and will again. Most egregious is the banning of Google Search in the Android Market so that users cannot download the Google alternative - the natural default on any other Android phone - on Google's own market!
Am I taking crazy pills here or was the whole reason for Android's creation openness and choice? Is Verizon so drunk with power that it forgets that the Walled Garden approach is short-term thinking? Telecom carriers cannot afford to be short-term thinkers, especially not with the near monopoly they enjoy. If they do, they will be doomed to be confined to the gardens they built themselves.
9/15/2010
Oh What A Beautiful Garden You Have, Verizon
Posted by
Ido
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3 comments:
I actually totally agree with you here. And I feel so dirty. You are def correct. This will only lead to people complaining and eventually enough will be upset that they will look for another carrier. The issue, I think, is that Verizon is powerful and has the best network so ppl are loyal. But the competition will catch up and already offers some better phone choices. In keeping with my other posts of making fun of you...you're ugly
The whole reason for Android's creation was definitely not openness and choice; it was to provide Google a mobile platform to maintain its dominance in search. I don’t know why they chose an open system (maybe because they believe it’s the right way to go, maybe they felt they had no other choice, but at this point in time, it’s irrelevant, it is what it is). For now, Google provides a totally open system for anyone to manipulate. And that’s just what happened.
VZW and MSFT took complete and utter advantage of Android’s openness. At the end of the day, Google didn’t protect it’s baby. This is why MSFT includes IE in its o/s and makes it very hard to uninstall. And why they were sued fifteen years ago for not letting you get rid of it. They knew that job one is to protect your baby. Google did not protect theirs. And that’s not VZW or MSFT’s problem. So if it actually comes to fruition that Bing replaces Google, on Google’s O/S, it’s the IE/Windows lesson coming right back into view for MSFT. And a huge victory for Microsoft. And a big fail for Google, because Android is now meaningless for them on VZW.
The question now becomes: will Google learn from this and maintain its openness with Android? And if this whole Bing-VZW thing is real, what happens next? If the whole point of Android was to protect their Search baby – and that’s no longer possible – why stay in the Android business with VZW? And what does that mean for VZW going forward? Does that mean they are firmly in the Win7 business? Did MSFT just make one of the greatest deals ever? All very exciting stuff, I’m curious to see what happens. Thanks for your help, I Man.
Verizon could also be readying to team up with Apple and they may feel that a deal with Apple is more lucrative. I just think its pretty backhanded, a low blow. Apparently, thats what you have to do to win at that level. VZW just made it worse for its customers - no surprise there.
If we are to increase the pace of innovation, reverting back to the days when AOL's "You've Got Mail" sound bite was popular seems like a move in the wrong direction and thats sad.
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