Skip the navigation
News

Android largely unharmed in Google-China row

By Owen Fletcher
March 5, 2010 03:57 AM ET

IDG News Service - A mobile phone with Google's Android operating system that was delayed in China will now ship next week, in the latest sign that Android has gone largely unscathed by a row between Google and the Chinese government.

A subsidiary of mobile carrier China Unicom has started letting users reserve the Motorola XT701 and estimates the phone will ship around March 13, according to its Web site. The pre-sale appeared to have started Thursday or later.

The price of the Motorola XT701 was listed as 4,299 yuan (US$630) on the China Unicom site. The 3G phone has a 3.7 inch touchscreen.

The Motorola phone was one of two Android phones delayed in China after Google said in January that it planned to stop censoring results on its China-based search engine. Google's announcement raised fears of a possible government backlash and harm to the use of Android in China. Google.cn is currently still censoring search results, but lifting its filters would defy Chinese regulations.

Google did postpone availability of Google apps on Android phones from Chinese carriers. That is certainly a blow for the company, said Zhang Jun, an analyst at research company Wedge MKI.

"Mobile is a really promising market," he said. After Google's announcement, Motorola formed a search deal with Google's Chinese rival, Baidu.com.

But interest in Android itself, an open-source OS, has stayed high among companies in China. Lenovo, China's top PC maker, and Dopod, which distributes HTC phones in China, both say their plans to use Android on upcoming phones have been unaffected. The top executive at China Unicom this week called Android a mainstream OS and said the carrier, which is state-owned, will use it on phones. And a government-linked computer maker, Lemote Technology, is optimizing Android to run on a laptop with a Loongson microprocessor, part of a state-backed line of chips.

China's IT ministry has said it will not restrict the use of Android as long as the OS conforms with Chinese regulations.

Still, "right now people probably expect too much in China for Android," Zhang said. Windows Mobile is dominant in the country and some local phone makers simply use their own Linux-based OSes, he said. Chinese phone makers usually target low- or middle-end buyers, and Android so far is suited to high-end chipsets, he said.

That could change. One reason is that MediaTek, a Taiwanese company that supplies low-price chipsets to much of the Chinese market, is working on a package that pairs its hardware with Android.

A Motorola representative said the Android phone now on pre-sale was its only handset affected by Google's move.

The other Android phone delayed after Google's announcement was from Samsung. When asked if its phone had gone on sale or if any others were also affected, Samsung said it was still providing Android smartphones for Chinese customers.

A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.

Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2010 International Data Group. All rights reserved.
Additional Resources
Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
WHITE PAPER
Solving application issues over the WAN requires careful consideration. Based on their independent research, Forrester Consulting offers recommendations on how to tackle application performance issues, insufficient bandwidth and the inability to quickly restore users in a disaster.

Read now.

Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

Mobile and Wireless White Papers
Digital Transformation: Creating New Business Models Where Digital Meets Physical
Individuals and businesses alike are embracing the digital revolution. Social networks and digital devices are being used to engage government, businesses and civil...
Empowering Your Mobile Worker
Today's most productive employees are mobile, and your company's IT strategy must be ready to support them with 24/7 access to the business...
An Interactive Guide: Bring Your Own Device
BYOD presents significant security and management challenges to IT departments who want to take advantage of the trend, but still protect corporate assets....
Calculating ROI for Mobile Client Acceleration
As mobile devices continue to expand in business use, ensuring these devices have optimal performance is becoming an IT imperative. This EMA paper...
Tablet Computing Without Compromise
This paper provides an overview of how and why that migration-from any old tablet to Windows tablets-came to be.
All Mobile and Wireless White Papers
Mobile and Wireless Webcasts
Live Webcast
North Pole to South Seas: Overcoming the Pitfalls of remote Performance
In today's always-on world, connectivity is a business requirement. You need the tools that allow you to operate as if you were on...
Supporting Mobile Productivity With A Limited IT Budget
Join us and hear from Kaseya mobile IT management experts as we discuss core strategies for supporting the mobile revolution on a shoestring...
North Pole to South Seas: Overcoming the Pitfalls of remote Performance
In today's always-on world, connectivity is a business requirement. You need the tools that allow you to operate as if you were on...
Unified Communications 101
What's the best way to implement a unified communications solution for your organization?
QNX® and BlackBerry® PlayBook™ Tablet.
RIM's multi-processor, multi-tasking BlackBerry PlayBook runs a new Tablet OS powered by QNX, a bullet-proof microkernel operating system. This track will take a...
A Close Look at Tablets
Learn More
All Mobile and Wireless Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs