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that doesnt make sense. There is a midway between forcing google services and no google services allowed, which is optional google services. SO if samsung can b

by ankitml 11y ago

that doesnt make sense. There is a midway between forcing google services and no google services allowed, which is optional google services. SO if samsung can become dominant vendor by creating their own services the others can still go with google. This is a win for consumers who now have no choice but to go with google services.

exelius 11y ago
That's how it is now. If Samsung wanted to create its own ecosystem, Google isn't stopping them. Samsung would just need their own app store as well. I don't think they seriously had any intention of doing so, so they signed the agreement. The thing is, the Google Play Store is more than just an app store, it's an entire ecosystem of apps and libraries that are guaranteed to be there and synchronized across the device. If you make Google services optional, then developers can't rely on their presence and would have to develop against multiple APIs. You'd get into a situation where an app would work on one manufacturer's device and not on another, and the platform would likely crumble over time as the user experience would pale in comparison to the tightly integrated iPhone.
- ocdtrekkie 11y ago
  They are stopping Samsung from making it's own ecosystem. By forcing Google apps on Samsung devices, Samsung isn't able to develop their own competing ecosystem without also marketing Google's ecosystem simultaneously. So unless Samsung can compete with all Google products all at once, Samsung can't compete. Developers having to do real work is irrelevant, because developers are not the goal of antitrust law. Antitrust law is about protecting consumers, and if developers have to do more work because of it, so be it. If the EU's new limits on Google after this case causes their infrastructure to collapse or become unfeasible, that's Google's problem to solve. These are technical issues, not legal ones, and have no place in this discussion.
  - exelius 11y ago
    They are technical issues that become competitive issues because of the presence of a strong, vertically integrated competitor. And I highly doubt Samsung's ability to create a competitive ecosystem; they have had the chance across a number of product categories and failed. Developers having to do work is absolutely a competitive issue: it's erecting a barrier to entry through regulation because it drives up the cost of developing an Android app. For many developers, it would likely drive the cost beyond the point of feasibility. And the market is likely at the point where even if the restrictions were relaxed, companies wouldn't take advantage of them because the market has already settled on Google and Apple. But if they were relaxed, it would likely be the end of Google's support of AOSP, which would further hamper the ability of OEMs to develop their own platforms / ecosystems.
    - ocdtrekkie 11y ago
      If those restrictions were removed, Samsung would likely remove most Google Apps from their ROMs in the next update. They'd keep the Play Store and Maps. Maybe YouTube. Most other OEMs would take longer to set up their own apps, but they'd all follow suit.

by ankitml 11y ago

exelius 11y ago

That's how it is now. If Samsung wanted to create its own ecosystem, Google isn't stopping them. Samsung would just need their own app store as well. I don't think they seriously had any intention of doing so, so they signed the agreement. The thing is, the Google Play Store is more than just an app store, it's an entire ecosystem of apps and libraries that are guaranteed to be there and synchronized across the device. If you make Google services optional, then developers can't rely on their presence and would have to develop against multiple APIs. You'd get into a situation where an app would work on one manufacturer's device and not on another, and the platform would likely crumble over time as the user experience would pale in comparison to the tightly integrated iPhone.

ocdtrekkie 11y ago
They are stopping Samsung from making it's own ecosystem. By forcing Google apps on Samsung devices, Samsung isn't able to develop their own competing ecosystem without also marketing Google's ecosystem simultaneously. So unless Samsung can compete with all Google products all at once, Samsung can't compete. Developers having to do real work is irrelevant, because developers are not the goal of antitrust law. Antitrust law is about protecting consumers, and if developers have to do more work because of it, so be it. If the EU's new limits on Google after this case causes their infrastructure to collapse or become unfeasible, that's Google's problem to solve. These are technical issues, not legal ones, and have no place in this discussion.
- exelius 11y ago
  They are technical issues that become competitive issues because of the presence of a strong, vertically integrated competitor. And I highly doubt Samsung's ability to create a competitive ecosystem; they have had the chance across a number of product categories and failed. Developers having to do work is absolutely a competitive issue: it's erecting a barrier to entry through regulation because it drives up the cost of developing an Android app. For many developers, it would likely drive the cost beyond the point of feasibility. And the market is likely at the point where even if the restrictions were relaxed, companies wouldn't take advantage of them because the market has already settled on Google and Apple. But if they were relaxed, it would likely be the end of Google's support of AOSP, which would further hamper the ability of OEMs to develop their own platforms / ecosystems.
  - ocdtrekkie 11y ago
    If those restrictions were removed, Samsung would likely remove most Google Apps from their ROMs in the next update. They'd keep the Play Store and Maps. Maybe YouTube. Most other OEMs would take longer to set up their own apps, but they'd all follow suit.