Google doesn't need to sell phones, though.

Post #414,343 by pwhysall 10/7/16 6:05:20 PM 10/7/16 6:05:20 PM Reply	Google doesn't need to sell phones, though. They have something much more useful, in terms of coercing desired behaviour from carriers - Google Play Services. If Google really wanted to put the hurt on Verizon (and every other carrier), they'd simply make it a condition of the Google Play Services licence that if you want to sell a phone with Google Play Services on it, you have to deliver updates and patches on Google's timetable, no arguments. Verizon, faced with the choice of selling some iPhones and basically no Android phones, would buckle under and do what they're told. Oh, they could sell a phone without GPS. Yeah. That's definitely a possibility. A really bad and stupid possibility. But it's there.
Post #414,345 by Another Scott 10/7/16 6:15:23 PM 10/7/16 6:15:23 PM Reply	But... https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/03/google-gets-more-time-to-respond-to-eu-antitrust-charges/ Alphabet (née Google) has been given yet another extension to file its respond to charges in Europe that it has misused the dominance of its Android mobile platform to lock out competition by promoting its own services over and above others. Reuters reported the extension today, which gives the company until the last day of this month to file its rebuttal, and follows another extension last month — at the time touted as Google’s last — which pushed the deadline from September 7 to September 20. The original EC deadline for Google’s response was in April so we’re heading for six months later already at this stage (meanwhile the EC’s initial probe of Android complaints dates back to April 2015). That said, it is common for competition investigations to involve extensions, although — from the complainant point of view — the risk is of the issue being kicked so far into the long glass that any corrective measures come too late. In the case of the Android antitrust probe, which has focused on complaints that Google uses the OS as a ‘trojan horse’ to embed its own apps and services into smartphone devices at the expense of rivals’, there’s a very real risk of a substantially negative outcome for Google’s business in Europe. Alphabet could face a fine of up to 10 per cent of its annual turnover — which is close to $75BN — if the EC antitrust charges are upheld against it. [...] I don't think what you're advocating Google do would make it past the antitrust folks (in the EU or the USA). Things are different when you have market power in one area (you can't just use that power in other areas)... Cheers, Scott.
Post #414,347 by pwhysall 10/7/16 6:44:49 PM 10/7/16 6:44:49 PM Reply	Sure But they're already doing it. Everywhere except China. Here's your experiment. Take AOSP. Fork it. Make a phone with your fork. Now try and get a GPS licence from Google for a regular Android phone. You can't - at least while you're selling another phone with a forked version of Android on it. If you want GPS, you have GPS and you have nothing else Android-y.
Post #414,356 by static 10/7/16 10:30:13 PM 10/7/16 10:30:13 PM Reply	+5, Interesting. It looks like the US cellphone carriers have way too much power. I get updates for my Xperia from Sony - not Telstra (my carrier). I have no idea if Telstra's branding could disable Sony's updates at all or if Telstra decided they just didn't want to deal with updates and let the manufacturers do it. Wade. Just Add Story http://justaddstory.wordpress.com/
Post #414,359 by pwhysall 10/8/16 2:25:31 AM 10/8/16 2:25:31 AM Reply	Might be worth double-checking that Although you get your updates from Sony, I'm pretty sure they will be approved/tested etc. by Telstra - assuming your handset is locked to Telstra.
Post #414,360 by static 10/8/16 3:21:24 AM 10/8/16 3:21:24 AM Reply	No, it's not locked to Telstra. And the update app is a Sony app and it will update over Wifi rather than the mobile data (I actually make it do all updates on Wifi). But I take your point, as the bootloader image has remained the Telstra logo. Wade. Just Add Story http://justaddstory.wordpress.com/

Welcome to IWETHEY!