Google’s Alegre Says Will Keep Android Open After Motorola Deal
Google Inc. (GOOG) said it will keep its Android operating system open for external developers after the takeover of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., countering concerns the deal will result in reduced support for Asian partners.
Asian makers of Android-based devices are “supportive” of the Motorola deal, Daniel Alegre, president at Google’s Asia- Pacific division, said in a Bloomberg Television interview from Singapore today. Google is not looking to favor any manufacturer of Android products, he said.
Google said this week the proposed $12.5 billion takeover will bolster the company’s portfolio of patents and help its phone partners defend against allegations of infringements. Still, analysts including Gartner Inc.’s Michael Gartenberg had said the deal will give Google an incentive to offer Motorola Mobility access to Android technology earlier than rivals such as South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. and Taiwan’s HTC Corp. (2498)
“This move that we made with Motorola Mobility is really to ensure the Android platform will survive, and continue to be successful for the benefit of all our partners worldwide,” Alegre said in the interview with Susan Li and Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television’s “Asia Edge.”
Samsung and HTC, Asia’s two biggest makers of smartphones, said this week they support Google’s takeover of Motorola Mobility because the deal will help strengthen the defense of Android device makers against patent infringement lawsuits.
“The Android platform has been successful because of the openness and it will continue to be an open platform,” Alegre said. “No way is this acquisition a departure from that.”
China Mapping
Google, which pulled its search-engine out of China last year after an online censorship dispute with the Chinese government, will see increased demand for Android in the country, Alegre said today.
China is reviewing an application from Google for a license to offer online mapping services, China’s State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping said last month. Online map technology is a “key differentiator” for Google in China and in other Asian markets, Alegre said today.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Lee in Hong Kong at wlee37@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net
president of Google Inc. Asia Pacific Division Daniel Alegre
Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg
Daniel Alegre, president of Google Inc. Asia Pacific division.
Daniel Alegre, president of Google Inc. Asia Pacific division. Photographer: Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg
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