Do you have any more info on the web services/sites Google supposedly disabled for WP devices?
The Verge has documented most of them: http://mobile.theverge.com/microsoft/2013/1/5/3839236/google-microsoft-ecosystem-war-a-full-history
Do you have any more info on the web services/sites Google supposedly disabled for WP devices?
I do not understand the google maps issue. Was it not possible to use the google maps web site on Windows phones?
I remember a story long ago about Commodore approaching MS to develop Office for the Amiga, and MS asked a million bucks minimum. Without Office, the Amiga couldn't compete in the office space and that helped contribute to its demise.
I can see why Google don't want another competitor. iOS they have to support as it owns such a signficant market, but squeezing out rivals makes sense from a business POV. It's strange to see MS on the receiving end, getting squeezed out because they aren't big enough to push ahead.
Microsoft's strategy for tablets is to push hybrid or convertible designs like their own Surface devices or those by their PC OEMs, using Intel processors.
So these are basically laptop internals which convert or detach into a tablet form factor. But they tend to be more expensive, heavier and while battery life is improving, still trail the ARM devices.
This is a fairly positive review of a Haswell convertible:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013...rade-improves-an-already-good-convertible-pc/
But one of the criticisms in the review is how often the fan spins up. So one of the tradeoffs or baggage that comes with legacy software compatibility is higher price, bigger/heavier form factors, higher power consumption and fans.
It doesn't seem like these convertible devices will find as large a market as ARM devices, if for nothing else than the fact that these Intel hybrids cost hundreds more.
But is there a potentially larger market of people who want legacy software if the price delta wasn't as significant?
If this thread continues to discuss the state and future of mobile phones as opposed to MS's long-term business strategy, I probably ought to close it up. Is there anything about MS really still to say?
Before or after Google blocked Windows Phones web-browser access?
I am unsure if Google did that or Google just served up the normal web site for WP devices. Do you know more?
Google wouldnt provide MS the internal APIs that it provides to Apple and itself in order to make apps with access to the Google backend servers. When MS tried to go around them and create approvable apps, Google either changed elements of the API to break the app or flat out denied the application access. Pretty nasty stuff.
OK. MS has of course never made it difficult for competitors.....
Anyway, what has that to do with my original question that you quoted?
Microsoft saved Apple from dieing and has a lot of it's services and products on competing platforms and are even more up to date most of the time than on their own platforms.
This still has nothing to do with my original question that blakejedi quoted.
C'mon man. Bing is your friend
http://www.zdnet.com/why-is-google-blocking-the-new-youtube-app-for-windows-phone-7000019460/
I fail to see how the linked article in any way answers my original question.
Restate your question because I think its been answered several times.
Google wouldnt provide MS the internal APIs that it provides to Apple and itself in order to make apps with access to the Google backend servers. When MS tried to go around them and create approvable apps, Google either changed elements of the API to break the app or flat out denied the application access. Pretty nasty stuff.
If Windows Phone represented hundreds of millions of devices, Google would have no choice but to make sure they could access Google services, since they live on ad revenue.
Nasty? Nasty would be trying to leech from Youtube's content, sucking down their bandwidth, without serving any Ads and generating revenue back for YouTube.
They aren't giving any special API access to 'Apple', Google builds both the Android and the iOS apps themselves. It's up to them if they want to use internal APIs to access their own content, which aren't exposed to 3rd parties. This is industry standard behavior across the board.
MS just wants special treatment, and think they can break the rules as they see fit.
Also, I would imagine Google would be more amenable to helping MS, if MS hadn't spent the last 2 years patent trolling every Android device maker and strong-arming them into royalty payments for an OS they did not create.
"I am unsure if Google did that or Google just served up the normal web site for WP devices. Do you know more?"