09/17, 6:46am
Google's Rubin gets fired up over Acer and Alibaba partnership
Google’s Andy Rubin has issued a further statement in the company’s ongoing war of words with Alibaba VP John Spelich. Spelich was moved to defend the Aliyun OS, arguing that it was not a fork of Google’s Android OS after Google forced OHA partner Asus to drop plans for a phone running the Aliyun OS. However, Rubin has retorted, “there’s really no disputing that Aliyun is based on the Android platform.”
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09/15, 2:25pm
Aliyun said to contain Android runtime, violate OHA rules
Representatives from Google have now confirmed that the company did indeed pressure Taiwanese manufacturer Acer to drop plans to release a smartphone running Chinese e-retailer Alibaba's cloud-based Aliyun operating system. A series of statements from the search giant yesterday, including a Google+ post from Andy Rubin, explained Google's action as a means of ensuring that its manufacturing partners adhered to the rules of the Open Handset Alliance, the consortium of carriers and device manufacturers supporting Google's Android platform. Google's decision to get Acer to drop the CloudMobile A800 could have repercussions throughout the mobile sector, as it signals that the search company is willing to pressure its partners into ensuring that forked versions of Android do not supplant the core version produced by Google.
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09/13, 11:43am
Alleges Google threatened to end Android license
Just as Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Acer was preparing to reveal an Aliyun-powered smartphone, the company has now apparently canceled the press conference for the phone. The Wall Street Journal reports that Acer still wants to launch the phone, which would run Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba's cloud-based Aliyun operating system, but Acer has given no indication as to the smartphone's future. Alibaba is claiming through its own channels that the Aliyun Acer phone, the CloudMobile A800, was postponed due to pressure from Google, which makes the Android software powering a number of other Acer phones.
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09/11, 7:46pm
CloudMobile A800 to be revealed on Friday
Acer announced today that it will be releasing a new smartphone powered by Alibaba's Aliyun operating system. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the Taiwanese manufacturer will be rolling out the CloudMobile A800 smartphone to the Chinese market on Friday. The model will be Acer's highest-priced model on sale in China, and Alibaba hopes it will spur greater adoption of its cloud-based mobile operating system among other manufacturers.
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09/11, 4:23pm
Chinese e-commerce company takes aim at iOS, Android
Alibaba, the largest e-commerce company in China, is planning to increase investment in its in-house mobile OS to the tune of around $150 million per year. The company spoke with The Wall Street Journal, saying that it is seeing stronger demand for its Aliyun OS, as a number of Chinese manufacturers are dissatisfied with Google's Android, while Apple's pricing for its iOS devices may leave an opening for lower-priced competitors. With the Chinese mobile market among the world's largest, Alibaba hopes to carve out a niche offering affordable phones that rely on its cloud services.
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09/09, 7:50pm
Chinese company developing new tablet
Alibaba Group is reportedly preparing to release an English version of its mobile operating system. Details surrounding the English offering remain unclear, however the move is viewed as necessary to help the Chinese company expand its reach into new markets. The company is said to be working to establish partnerships with hardware makers to pair the English OS with new devices.
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09/02, 3:20pm
Will offer apps for its Android-based Baidu YI OS
Baidu, China's largest search provider is opening an online app store. The company hopes to encourage Chinese developers to create new content for Android phones and for phones running its new Baidu Yi OS, which the company can then distribute. The Yi OS, which Baidu officially announced at Baidu World earlier today, is based on Google's platform.
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07/28, 12:30pm
Alibaba K-Touch Cloud kicks off Aliyun OS
The cellphone field saw the rare instance of a brand new mobile OS Thursday as Alibaba unveiled the first phone based on its own platform. The Tianyu K-Touch Cloud W700 runs Alibaba's own planned cloud OS, Aliyun, and focuses on web and cloud services. It focuses on web elements like e-mail and search but should also support web-based apps and will back up call, photo, and text data in the cloud.
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