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Forget Apple: Samsung Could Be Google's Next Big Rival
Nerval's Lobster writes "The idea of Samsung as a Google rival isn't unprecedented. For the past several quarters, Samsung has progressively molded Android to its own vision: layered with TouchWiz and sprinkled with all sorts of Samsung-centric apps, the software interface on Samsung devices is deviating rapidly away from the 'stock' Android that runs on other manufacturers' devices. During this year's unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S4 at New York City's Radio City Music Hall, Samsung executives onstage barely mentioned the word 'Android,' and played up features designed specifically for the device. Establishing its own brand identity by moving away from 'stock' Android has done Samsung a lot of good: its smartphones and tablets not only stand out from the flood of Android devices on the market, but it's given the company an opportunity to position itself as the one true rival to iOS. While other Android manufacturers struggle, Samsung has profited. If Samsung continues to gain strength, it could become a huge issue for Google, which has its own eye on the hardware segment. Although Google purchased Motorola in 2011 for $12.5 billion, it hasn't yet remolded the brand in its own image, claiming that the subsidiary's existing pipeline of products first needs to be flushed into the ecosystem. But that reluctance could be coming to an end: reports suggest that Google will pump $500 million into marketing the Moto X, an upcoming 'hero' smartphone meant to reestablish Motorola's dominance of the Android space. If the Moto X succeeds, and Google decides to push aggressively into the branded hardware space, it could drive Samsung even further away from core Android. Never mind issuing TouchWiz updates until the original Android interface is virtually unrecognizable—with its industry heft, Samsung could potentially boot Google Play from the home-screen and substitute it with an apps-and-content hub of its own design. That would take a lot of work, of course: first, Samsung would need to build a substantial developer ecosystem, and then it would need to score great deals with movie studios and other content providers. But as Amazon and Apple have shown, such things aren't impossible. The only questions are whether (a) Samsung has the will to devote the necessary time and resources to such a project, and (b) if it's willing to transform its symbiotic relationship with Google into an antagonistic one."
MS/Apple style lockin is what's to be feared, not good healthy competition.
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
Don't think it's too likely in the near future though. They now have the S4 Play Edition so I'm not sure that Samsung will be ditching andoid any time soon. I think they could make a go at it but without the Play ecosystem they'd basically be back to square one and be back with BlackBerry and Windows Phone for apps.
I can pop the back of a Galaxy S4, slide in a microSD memory card & replace the battery - all without tools. That's why the Samsung phones have become the default geek Android phones (well, that & they are also easily rooted) even more-so than the latest Nexus devices. With the latest quad-core devices having enough power to run Touch-Wiz seamlessly (from what I've seen in-store, anyway) they are very nice out-of-box, even without root.
Unless Samsung become an advertising company, Google has nothing to fear from Samsung becoming completely independent from google. Googles main rivals is Facebook and maybe Amazon and that is not going to change any time soon.
In fact maybe slightly off topic its interesting to note that Google Chromecast is a dirt-cheap wireless video dongle that streams Netflix a company I thought of as direct competitive with Google Play
Samsung is doing a better job of improving Android than Google is.
Except its interesting to note that Samsung have started offering Google Play Edition Phone due to demand for it. HTC has also a Google Play edition.
Where are the Samsungs compelling first party Apps? A quick search on Google Play https://play.google.com/store/search?q=samsung&c=apps shows a couple of nice Applications to use with your Samsung smart tv and nothing else. Google Inc is a different story https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Google+Inc.
Like any computer, there are instabilities, but I report them, and samsung and at&t collaborate on updates.
Um, no. Samsung is one of the worst android vendors for releasing updates.
http://www.androidcentral.com/google-play-edition-htc-one-galaxy-s4 Its interesting that the article points out how Samsung is moving away from Stock Android, but fails to point out that they are offering stock android as an option, because people desire just that, and they are not the only company doing so.
6 years on and obviously not Winning, but you're going to keep banging that drum, aren't you? Couldn't stop Android from getting top dog with this story, but still trying to find some fool to influence with it. Why don't we talk about Windows fragmentation, and all of the devices and apps left behind each version, how even Microsoft doesn't even support their own older OS with their apps and so fragments their own installed base? Or maybe Windows Phone, where 7.x apps don't even run on 8.x?
Help stamp out iliturcy.
Yes, If you don't understand that *Google* spent $12.5Billion on acquiring patents to protect Android...Its mobile platform...to deliver advertising on. Not to become a Patent Rapist like Nokiasoft.
So why are they suing Microsoft over some shitty h.264 patents?
The premise of the article is completely wrong. Apple isn't Google's rival at all. Apple sells devices to end users, Google sells end users to advertisers.
What will happen however is that Apple will do more and more to upset Google's business, just as Google has been working hard to upset Apple's and Microsoft's business. The first step is Apple's maps, which meant that Apple isn't paying anymore for licensing maps from Google, and Apple is destroying Google ad revenue (Apple maps comes without adverts). iWork in the cloud is another step. Apple switching to Bing is another one.
I agree it's redonculous. Why would samsung want to do that?
The title contains the words Apple, Samsung, Google and rival. The summary is a bunch of hypotheticals and the article is non-existent.
There is not a goddamn thing to see here, Slashdot.
Nowhere did he say that they were losing money. BUt its obvious that only samsung makes any "real money" and leaving the rest to fight for scraps. But hey.. trolls like you never seem to embrace facts so why start now..
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-16/google-makes-android-but-samsung-makes-all-the-money
Also nice deflection about nokia which had nothing to do with android phones. I guess you have to bash anyone who is not paying you. You would be a truly valuable asset on any politicians payroll..