A spat between Google Inc and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) continued yesterday when a Google executive again criticized the Chinese e-commerce giant for trying to launch a phone that had a “non-compatible” version of Google’s Android system.
In a post on his Google+ social network page yesterday, Andy Rubin, Google’s senior vice president of mobile and digital content, shot back at an Alibaba executive, saying: “If you want to benefit from the Android ecosystem, then make the choice to be compatible.”
The dispute was sparked when Taiwan-based Acer Inc (宏碁) abruptly canceled a joint press conference it was to hold with Alibaba in Shanghai on Thursday last week to unveil the Acer CloudMobile A800, which runs on Alibaba’s latest operating system, Aliyun OS 2.0.
According to Alibaba, Acer’s last-minute cancelation was due to direct pressure from Google, which claimed that Aliyun used modified Android software — making it non-compatible.
“Compatibility is at the heart of the Android ecosystem and ensures a consistent experience for developers, manufacturers and consumers,” Google said in a statement on Friday. “Non-compatible versions of Android, like Aliyun, weaken the ecosystem.”
John Spelich, Alibaba’s vice president of international corporate affairs, responded: “Aliyun OS is not part of the Android ecosystem, so of course Aliyun OS is not and does not have to be compatible with Android,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Rubin fired back early yesterday that he agreed with Spelich that Aliyun does not have to be compatible, except that the Aliyun OS is essentially an Android system under another name.
“The fact is, Aliyun uses the Android runtime, framework and tools. And your app store contains Android apps [including pirated Google apps]. So there’s really no disputing that Aliyun is based on the Android platform,” he wrote. “If you don’t want to be compatible, then don’t expect help from OHA [Open Handset Alliance] members that are all working to support and build a unified Android ecosystem.”
According to an Alibaba statement released on Friday, Acer was notified by Google that if it went ahead with the phone launch, Google would terminate Android-related cooperation and other technology licensing with Acer.
The alleged threat carried weight because Acer recently announced three Android-powered smartphones in Hong Kong — CloudMobile S500, Liquid Gallent E350 and Liquid Glow E330.
Google’s statement on Friday also hinted that it pressured Acer because of a promise Acer made as a member of the OHA.
“All members of the Open Handset Alliance have committed to building one Android platform and to not ship non-compatible Android devices. This does not, however, keep OHA members from participating in competing ecosystems,” the statement said.
The OHA boasts a membership of 84 technology and mobile companies, including Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), Foxconn International Holdings (富士康) and HTC Corp (宏達電). Acer has not commented on the alleged pressure, saying only that it will continue working with its strategic partners in China.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained