Is Google preparing to dump Android?

[webfact]

Is Google preparing to dump Android?
By Jim Lynch

Apple Insider has a fascinating article that explores the possibility of Google dumping Android for Chrome OS. You might at first think this is a crazy notion, given the popularity of Android phones in particular. However, it's not as far fetched an idea as it might seem initially.

Android has not brought much money in for Google, after you add up all of the costs associated with it (development, legal hassles, etc.). In fact, the company that has benefited the most from Android is Samsung, not Google.

While Android has been widely deployed on smartphones globally and is almost universally considered a tremendous success, the platform and its close association with its namesake Rubin, who was himself nicknamed "Android" while working at Apple in the early 1990s, has inflicted more liability and expense on Google than it has strategic opportunity, revenues or profits.

Evidence from multiple sources, including the design decisions behind Google's latest Chromecast product, support the idea that the company now sees more future potential and interest in investing in Chrome OS than in continuing to support Rubin's Android and defending the platform from ongoing intellectual property disputes, even if the company has no interest in publicizing those intentions.

More at Apple Insider

Read more: http://www.itworld.com/open-source/367176/google-preparing-dump-android

-- IT World 2013-08-01

[theblether]

Google are not omnipotent, they have a history of making bad decisions. If they drop this platform they could do serious damage to themselves.

[h90]

Google are not omnipotent, they have a history of making bad decisions. If they drop this platform they could do serious damage to themselves.

Well a platform that doesn't make money?

[csmith]

Anything that gets more eyeballs on the web ... and clicking on adverts ... is going to make Google money.

[newermonkey]

April 1st has passed already so why are we seeing this joke being published?

[lomatopo]

Apple Insider has a fascinating article...

'Nuff said.

Apple shipped less than half as many tablets as Android in Q2

The smartphone market really heated up in the second quarter as Samsung widened its lead over Apple and became the most profitable handset vendor in the world

I can imagine Apple would want Android to go away.

Edited August 1, 2013 by lomatopo

[sustento]

An Apple site slagging off Android? Well I never!

[MobileContent]

Google are not omnipotent, they have a history of making bad decisions. If they drop this platform they could do serious damage to themselves.

Well a platform that doesn't make money?

I think Google makes money on selling ads via Admob.

Android is very much open source, so even if Google dumps it it will still be available for the device manufacturers and they can continue to further develop it.

Their is only IOS/Android and WP. BlackBerry has a small number of users so I don't count them. So all in all it is Android via IOS and Android is winning the game.

My guess they will not dump it.

[harrycallahan]

No mention of Google's Nexus hardware?

[HAL9000]

The author obviously doesn't understand Google's business model. Google is not a search engine company. Google is a marketing company, and you are its product. A recent cartoon noted a phone vendor relabeling them as "NSA monitoring devices". The truth is more that they are marketing monitoring devices.

[h90]

Google are not omnipotent, they have a history of making bad decisions. If they drop this platform they could do serious damage to themselves.

Well a platform that doesn't make money?

I think Google makes money on selling ads via Admob.

Android is very much open source, so even if Google dumps it it will still be available for the device manufacturers and they can continue to further develop it.

Their is only IOS/Android and WP. BlackBerry has a small number of users so I don't count them. So all in all it is Android via IOS and Android is winning the game.

My guess they will not dump it.

I don't think they will dump it, but I actually never see adds on my tablet or mobile phone, so I can't really see where they get money out of me.

On the other hand, if I use Android or not does not cause them extra costs and is fine as long as others download every free game with adds.

[nachiket]

If Samsung is making more money than Google using Android, this can't be an issue to dump Android.

This may be rumor.

[MilesofSmiles]

I doubt they'd drop it, even if samsung is making billions with it.

~70percent global market share.

All with a google account pumping data back.

Even if it's not turning a huge profit, and totally ignoring the entire android ecosystem for a moment, it's still valuable to big G, for Clickstream and location data it supplies to adwords.

The only product of theirs that makes them any real money.

Frankly I'd argue that Adwords & their Ad exchange is their best product, one area that they're actually better than the completion in.

They even give me someone I can ask questions or yell at.

Apps platform is ok, but you get what you pay $5/user/mo for. Google docs is terrible compared to office 365 given the head-start they had.

Drive is as half-baked as most of their products. Etc.

Most of their other endevours or creations tend to flake out and burn up without going anywhere.

Anyone who says MS Office is in danger from google's office offering is delusional.

MS has a webapp. It's nearly identical to the desktop.

Search is good, but requires massive human involvement thesedays. Bing is very credible thesedays too, as is Yandex IMO.

ChromeOS is a modern thin client, quite unlike what android does. 2 very different things.

Also, they made ChromeOS themselves, and all their products except search and adwords are terrible.

G just bought quickoffice, and are bring that to the browser, so with any luck google docs will improve things a bit.

I'm way off topic now.

/rant

[hhiser]

Is Google preparing to dump Android?

By Jim Lynch

Apple Insider has a fascinating article that explores the possibility of Google dumping Android for Chrome OS. You might at first think this is a crazy notion, given the popularity of Android phones in particular. However, it's not as far fetched an idea as it might seem initially.

Android has not brought much money in for Google, after you add up all of the costs associated with it (development, legal hassles, etc.). In fact, the company that has benefited the most from Android is Samsung, not Google.

While Android has been widely deployed on smartphones globally and is almost universally considered a tremendous success, the platform and its close association with its namesake Rubin, who was himself nicknamed "Android" while working at Apple in the early 1990s, has inflicted more liability and expense on Google than it has strategic opportunity, revenues or profits.

Evidence from multiple sources, including the design decisions behind Google's latest Chromecast product, support the idea that the company now sees more future potential and interest in investing in Chrome OS than in continuing to support Rubin's Android and defending the platform from ongoing intellectual property disputes, even if the company has no interest in publicizing those intentions.

More at Apple Insider

Read more: http://www.itworld.com/open-source/367176/google-preparing-dump-android

-- IT World 2013-08-01

You would trust an article written by an entity with a vested interest in a competitor.

[Confuscious]

Android is very much open source, so even if Google dumps it it will still be available for the device manufacturers and they can continue to further develop it.

Exactly!!!!

Android is Open Source software and as such anybody can keep making phones/tablets based on Android OS.

Eventually with their modified version of Android like it is done now.

Fact is that Google is pushing their Chrome OS to the phones/tablets and even to the Notebooks.

This could hurt a lot of computer OS manufacturers (Microsoft and Apple).

I have tested Chrome OS on my Notebook and with a little effort from Google and Open Source developers Chrome could become the OS from the next generation.

[pmugghc]

... all their products except search and adwords are terrible.

Strongly disagree. A few great product & services examples: Android, Nexus phones & tablets, Google Maps, Chrome browser, Gmail, Translate, YouTube, Google Now, etc. In select countries they have the Play Store not just for apps, but books, music & films. Google+ is bigger than Twitter.

As for the original article: rubbish!

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited August 2, 2013 by pmugghc

[anthrosciguy]

Meanwhile, an article in Google Insider says Apple is planning on dumping the iPhone business in favor of two tin cans and some really cool looking string.