‘We’re Using Compatibility as a Club to Make Them Do Things We Want.’

Steve Lohr, reporting for the NYT:

A stack of internal e-mail messages from Google, which a Massachusetts state court made public last week, provide a glimpse into the competitive tactics and decision-making inside a business that is crucial to the company’s growth — its Android software for smartphones. […]

Android phones must adhere to a “compatibility” standard determined by Google. In an e-mail on Aug. 6, 2010, Dan Morrill, a manager in the Android group, noted in passing that it was obvious to the phone makers that “we are using compatibility as a club to make them do things we want.”

See, but it’s an open club.

★ Monday, 9 May 2011