The Mac Observer

Google: No Android Phones from Us

TMO Talk (2)

Andy Rubin, Google's head of Android development, insists the company isn't planning to build its own smartphones despite rumors to the contrary. His comment comes in response to new rumors that Google is getting ready to make its own Android-based handsets, according to CNET News.

"We're not making hardware," Mr. Rubin said. "We're enabling other people to build hardware."

Google's Android platform is targeted at portable devices such as smartphones, and is used in products such as the G1 smartphone, the Nook ebook reader and the upcoming Motorola Droid smartphone.

Market speculation has suggested in the past that Google was working on its own smartphone that could compete with Apple's iPhone. Mr. Rubin's comments, however, put those rumors to rest -- at least for now.

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2 Observer Comments

Google seems to be doing just fine right now with its Android platform. I don’t expect to see the company jump into hardware design any time soon.

   Actions Nemo said on November 2nd, 2009 at 10:27 AM (Edited: 04/06/2011 11:14 AM):

Google’s business model suggests that it won’t be making its own smartphone.  Google provides Android to OEMs for free and encourages OEMs to adopt Android by not making a competing smartphone, because Google uses Android as platform to sell principally its advertising and search services and also its other services, such as Gmail, Google Apps, Google Maps, etc.  Google calculates, I think correctly, that it will make the most money from Android by promoting its core businesses of search and advertising on the broader market share of many third party phones, rather than making its own smartphone, where its advertising and search would be restricted to a much smaller markets share as it competed directly with Apple’s iPhone, RIM’s Blackberry, Nokia’s smartphones, other Linux based smartphones, and, yes, even WiMo 7.

Also, if Google directly competed with the iPhone with its own smartphone, Apple might well decided to use another search service for its Macs and the iPhone.

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