Right; I mean more than just a fork that replaces Google services. The author seems to lament that text entry services provided by the big Chinese search engine

Right; I mean more than just a fork that replaces Google services. The author seems to lament that text entry services provided by the big Chinese search engines are not available throughout the OS. Text entry seems to be a huge problem in general in China, and from a strategy standpoint it seems to be almost inextricably linked to the discovery function. Xiaomi is a device manufacturer; I'm specifically referring to Baidu, 360, Sogou, etc. If their search/translation functions really are that much better, they could drive the interface of the phone and create a better experience. The Chinese market is certainly different than the west, but that's what we've seen happen here.