7 ms·

Google's Sundar Pichai Is the Most Powerful Man in Mobile

118 points by e15ctr0n 12y ago

ufmace 12y ago
Good article, I hadn't realized that the seemingly kind of sudden lack of hostility and conflict between Samsung and Google was pretty much all Pichai's doing. Before, Samsung seemed all but ready to do a full-strength push of their in-house OS and was using it primarily on their watches. Now, that seems to have fallen down to be more of a side project, and they seem to be going all-in on Android with their smart watches. I think it's a huge win for the overall openness of the ecosystem to have everybody using the mostly-open Android rather then all develop their own in-house solutions because they're trying to hard to win points off of each other.
- gress 12y ago
  What openness exactly are you talking about? This is all closed source code being shared between some of the worlds largest corporations under secretly negotiated contracts. Also you make it sound as though they somehow made peace rather than Google just defeating Samsung in the negotiation. It's hardly as if Tizen was a viable alternative.
  - ufmace 12y ago
    Android, of course. It isn't perfectly open to the satisfaction of open-source ideologues, but what viable smartphone OS is even a tenth as open as Android? I can't think of any other smartphone OS that's open enough for, say, Amazon to fork it and create their own OS. It sounds to me much closer to them making peace than a straight defeat. Tizen may not be viable today, but Android wasn't all that great when it first came out either. If Samsung made it top priority for years, things might be very different. Although, it is interesting that all of the modern smartphone OSes are made by companies whose primary business is software - makes you wonder how well any hardware company could do.
    - gress 12y ago
      What Amazon forked is not the Android the licencees like Samsung use. That Android, the one that most people use, is exactly as 'open' as Windows.
      - product50 12y ago
        Bless Hacker News for having discovered souls like you. You really have no idea what Android is.
        gress 12y ago
        Android is AOSP + GMS. AOSP is open source, and GMS is not. What do you 'know' about Android, that people 'like me' don't?
        Oletros 12y ago
        Android is AOSP, AOSP + GMS is AOSP + GMS.
        gress 12y ago
        Certainly false. Google consistently refers to features of Android that are only in GMS, therefore Android must include GMS. AOSP is just a component of Android.
        Oletros 12y ago
        Tell Google. Perhaps you know more about Android than them https://source.android.com/source/index.html https://source.android.com/source/index.html Or perhaps you're just spreading wrong things
        gress 12y ago
        Perhaps you should tell them since you are so attached to this definition. That isn't the definition they used at Google I/O so it would seem that you are out of date.
- foobarqux 12y ago
  The article is public relations from Google, I wouldn't draw any conclusions from it.
  - selmnoo 12y ago
    Really? In what terms? Can companies do that? I mean, are you suggesting they basically orchestrated this whole piece -- they have that much power over journalistic outlets? I actually believed it, my friends at Google pretty much say the exact thing the article was saying, that Sundar is a very non-confrontational and amicable guy who wants everyone to get along.
    - ericflo 12y ago
      I think the way it usually works is the company will craft a compelling narrative summary that paints the company in a good light and contact bloggers their PR people have good relationships with. Then when one blogger bites, they give them exclusive access, quotes, sound bites, etc. The blogger then writes their own story the way they see it, but they are primed to write the article the company wanted. At least that's the rumor I've heard about how it works.
      - waterhouse 12y ago
        It may be worth mentioning Paul Graham's "The Submarine" here. http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html A choice quote: "A good flatterer doesn't lie, but tells his victim selective truths (what a nice color your eyes are). Good PR firms use the same strategy: they give reporters stories that are true, but whose truth favors their clients." I'm sure Sundar's a great guy. Meanwhile, I have no information on this subject that everyone else doesn't already have, so I shall refrain from generating any further information-free noise.
    - simoncion 12y ago
      > Can companies do that? Absolutely. Drew Curtis'[0] book is a good look into filler "news" pieces http://www.fark.com/2007/book/ http://www.fark.com/2007/book/ [0] The guy behind fark.com.
- drewvolpe 12y ago
  Samsung hasn't slowed their move off of Android at all. This winter, they released the new Gear 2, which ran Tizen instead of Android. Earlier this month they released details on their new Z phone, their first phone to run Tizen. In addition, they announced that they're moving to Tizen for their smart TVs. They're still trying to move to Tizen as fast as they can; it's just taking time for them to get there.
  - nl 12y ago
    Samsung doesn't seem to believe Tizen/Android is an either/or situation. They shipped a Tizen watch and now are shipping Android watches. They are actively developing Android and Tizen phones, and it wouldnt surprise me if they shipped the new Google TV. Samsung will try anything and go with what sells. Many see this lack of strategy as a weakness, but in some ways it's also their biggest strength.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
hglaser 12y ago
Sundar is the kind of guy who gives you hope that the world is working as intended: Smart, kind, humble, hardworking. Several of my friends work for him. They all love it. It's great to see him getting his moment in the spotlight.
kgarten 12y ago
“I would challenge you to find anyone at Google who doesn’t like Sundar or who thinks Sundar is a jerk,” ... I wonder if this is a good thing ...
known 12y ago
He tried for CEO of Microsoft.
sidcool 12y ago
I wonder if he's sidelining Google+. There was no mention of it at IO this year, as opposed to the last one, where Google+ got it's share of attention.

118 points by e15ctr0n 12y ago

Good article, I hadn't realized that the seemingly kind of sudden lack of hostility and conflict between Samsung and Google was pretty much all Pichai's doing. Before, Samsung seemed all but ready to do a full-strength push of their in-house OS and was using it primarily on their watches. Now, that seems to have fallen down to be more of a side project, and they seem to be going all-in on Android with their smart watches. I think it's a huge win for the overall openness of the ecosystem to have everybody using the mostly-open Android rather then all develop their own in-house solutions because they're trying to hard to win points off of each other.

gress 12y ago
What openness exactly are you talking about? This is all closed source code being shared between some of the worlds largest corporations under secretly negotiated contracts. Also you make it sound as though they somehow made peace rather than Google just defeating Samsung in the negotiation. It's hardly as if Tizen was a viable alternative.
- ufmace 12y ago
  Android, of course. It isn't perfectly open to the satisfaction of open-source ideologues, but what viable smartphone OS is even a tenth as open as Android? I can't think of any other smartphone OS that's open enough for, say, Amazon to fork it and create their own OS. It sounds to me much closer to them making peace than a straight defeat. Tizen may not be viable today, but Android wasn't all that great when it first came out either. If Samsung made it top priority for years, things might be very different. Although, it is interesting that all of the modern smartphone OSes are made by companies whose primary business is software - makes you wonder how well any hardware company could do.
  - gress 12y ago
    What Amazon forked is not the Android the licencees like Samsung use. That Android, the one that most people use, is exactly as 'open' as Windows.
    - product50 12y ago
      Bless Hacker News for having discovered souls like you. You really have no idea what Android is.
      - gress 12y ago
        Android is AOSP + GMS. AOSP is open source, and GMS is not. What do you 'know' about Android, that people 'like me' don't?
        Oletros 12y ago
        Android is AOSP, AOSP + GMS is AOSP + GMS.
        gress 12y ago
        Certainly false. Google consistently refers to features of Android that are only in GMS, therefore Android must include GMS. AOSP is just a component of Android.
        Oletros 12y ago
        Tell Google. Perhaps you know more about Android than them https://source.android.com/source/index.html https://source.android.com/source/index.html Or perhaps you're just spreading wrong things
        gress 12y ago
        Perhaps you should tell them since you are so attached to this definition. That isn't the definition they used at Google I/O so it would seem that you are out of date.
foobarqux 12y ago
The article is public relations from Google, I wouldn't draw any conclusions from it.
- selmnoo 12y ago
  Really? In what terms? Can companies do that? I mean, are you suggesting they basically orchestrated this whole piece -- they have that much power over journalistic outlets? I actually believed it, my friends at Google pretty much say the exact thing the article was saying, that Sundar is a very non-confrontational and amicable guy who wants everyone to get along.
  - ericflo 12y ago
    I think the way it usually works is the company will craft a compelling narrative summary that paints the company in a good light and contact bloggers their PR people have good relationships with. Then when one blogger bites, they give them exclusive access, quotes, sound bites, etc. The blogger then writes their own story the way they see it, but they are primed to write the article the company wanted. At least that's the rumor I've heard about how it works.
    - waterhouse 12y ago
      It may be worth mentioning Paul Graham's "The Submarine" here. http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html A choice quote: "A good flatterer doesn't lie, but tells his victim selective truths (what a nice color your eyes are). Good PR firms use the same strategy: they give reporters stories that are true, but whose truth favors their clients." I'm sure Sundar's a great guy. Meanwhile, I have no information on this subject that everyone else doesn't already have, so I shall refrain from generating any further information-free noise.
  - simoncion 12y ago
    > Can companies do that? Absolutely. Drew Curtis'[0] book is a good look into filler "news" pieces http://www.fark.com/2007/book/ http://www.fark.com/2007/book/ [0] The guy behind fark.com.
drewvolpe 12y ago
Samsung hasn't slowed their move off of Android at all. This winter, they released the new Gear 2, which ran Tizen instead of Android. Earlier this month they released details on their new Z phone, their first phone to run Tizen. In addition, they announced that they're moving to Tizen for their smart TVs. They're still trying to move to Tizen as fast as they can; it's just taking time for them to get there.
- nl 12y ago
  Samsung doesn't seem to believe Tizen/Android is an either/or situation. They shipped a Tizen watch and now are shipping Android watches. They are actively developing Android and Tizen phones, and it wouldnt surprise me if they shipped the new Google TV. Samsung will try anything and go with what sells. Many see this lack of strategy as a weakness, but in some ways it's also their biggest strength.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

hglaser 12y ago

Sundar is the kind of guy who gives you hope that the world is working as intended: Smart, kind, humble, hardworking. Several of my friends work for him. They all love it. It's great to see him getting his moment in the spotlight.

kgarten 12y ago

“I would challenge you to find anyone at Google who doesn’t like Sundar or who thinks Sundar is a jerk,” ... I wonder if this is a good thing ...

known 12y ago

He tried for CEO of Microsoft.

sidcool 12y ago

I wonder if he's sidelining Google+. There was no mention of it at IO this year, as opposed to the last one, where Google+ got it's share of attention.