Η google announced that it is changing the way its suite of applications (G Suite) is distributed via Android in Europe.
The news came after one a fine of 5 billions dollars in Alphabet by the EU anti-trust regulators, although it is already in the process of appealing to a court of appeal.
The story so far
In May 2015, the European Επιτροπή (EC) κατηγόρησε επισήμως την Goοgle ότι χρησιμοποιεί την κυριαρχία της στα αποτελέσματα της αναζήτησης, μετά από μια τετραετή έρευνα για το θέμα. Ταυτόχρονα, η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή αποκάλυψε ότι ξεκίνησε μια νέα έρευνα για το Android εξετάζοντας τον τρόπο που αναγκάζει κατασκευαστές smartphone και tablet να συνδέσουν ορισμένες υπηρεσίες της Google, As the gmail, Google Search and Google Play on their Android devices.
Η Google εδώ και καιρό υποστηρίζει ότι οι κατασκευαστές είναι ελεύθεροι να κάνουν ό, τι θέλουν με το Android, κάτι που φαίνεται να είναι σωστό, γιατί το Android κυκλοφορεί με άδεια ανοικτού κώδικα. Όπως είδαμε, η Amazon χρησιμοποίησε μια ειδική έκδοση του Android στα Kindle Fire μέσω των οποίων ορίζει τις δικές της προεπιλεγμένες εφαρμογές. Ωστόσο, αυτό περιορίζει την πρόσβαση της Amazon σε ορισμένες εγγενείς εφαρμογές Google, όπως το YouTube.
In short, if a manufacturer wants to use Android and pre-install Google applications, he should use the entire suite. He can not choose some of these. If he wants to include Google Maps, Gmail, and YouTube, for example, it should include Google Play, Chrome, and Google Search by default. This is something Europe regards as anti-competitive.
So Google has finally unveiled its response to Europe's complaints: a new licensing model for manufacturers who want to distribute phones and tablets in the European Economic Area (EEA) with their applications installed.
From 29 October 2018, Google said it would allow manufacturers to distribute Google applications to special versions of Android in the EEA.
"We are updating compatibility agreements with mobile device manufacturers that define how Android is used to develop smartphones and tablets," said Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google's senior vice president for platforms and ecosystems. publishing on the blog of the company.
Android partners who want to distribute Google apps can also create incompatible or forked smartphones and tablets for the European Economic Area.
However, this will cost.
Google will now separate Google Search and Chrome from the rest of the suite of applications, such as Maps, YouTube, Gmail and the Google Play Store, and will offer separate licenses for each "package" it charges. However, it seems that manufacturers who sign up to pre-install Google services, such as Play, Gmail, Maps and YouTube, will be able to install Google Search and Chrome for free. (Say thank you!).
Αυτό αλλάζει εντελώς τον τρόπο με τον οποίο θα διανέμεται το Android στην Ευρώπη, καθώς δίνει στους κατασκευαστές περισσότερες επιλογές στις προεπιλεγμένες εφαρμογές που εγκαθιστούν. Για παράδειγμα μπορεί να δούμε το Bing και τον Firefox σαν default μηχανή αναζήτησης και program περιήγησης αντίστοιχα.
Probably the model announced by Google has to do with the revenue it will lose from Google Search and Chrome.
"As the pre-installation of Google Search and Chrome, along with our other applications, helped fund the development and free distribution of Android, we will introduce a new paid licensing agreement for smartphones and tablets shipped to the EEA." , says Lockheimer.
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