The stakes are indisputably high. According to ABI Research, 20 percent of mid- to high-end mobile phones will be running some form of the Linux operating system by 2013.

A Threat To Carriers

The success that Google has enjoyed to date is based on the relative openness of Internet browsers, and now Google wants to bring that same format to mobile devices, said IDC Senior Analyst Chris Hazelton.

"Google is interested in pushing the Web onto mobile devices and, in doing so, increase the number of Internet users, and thus increase the number of Google users worldwide," Hazelton explained. "The trouble is that Google's mobile strategy poses a threat to the offerings of Verizon and the other wireless carriers."

When mobile subscribers go to the Google search engine, Google does not share any of the click-though ad revenues with the wireless carriers unless a sharing agreement is already in place, Hazelton observed. "What the carriers really want is the ability to partner with other search-engine companies that offer 'white label' search offerings that will enable them to share in that revenue," he said.

Other industry observers find it somewhat ironic that Google has been challenging Verizon's commitment to open standards when its own Android platform falls short of being totally transparent.

"The closed nature of Google's development effort has limited the ability for both parties to have meaningful information exchange," noted Andrew Shikiar, director of mobile marketing for the LiMo Foundation. "LiMo would welcome contributions from Google that would facilitate deployment of Android services across LiMo devices."

Seeking OS Flexibility

Verizon's decision was driven in part by the LiMo Foundation's commitment to allowing wireless carriers to remain free to deliver their own compelling and differentiated services to mobile customers. "Verizon was looking for an OS with the flexibility that would allow it to strip out certain middleware modules and replace those with carrier offerings," Hazelton said. (continued...)

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