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Samsung cosies up to Yahoo!
Anyone but Google
Yahoo! and Samsung are to work more closely together, joining forces against the twin onslaughts of Google and Apple.
A deal announced today between the two companies will see Yahoo! embedded in Samsung handsets, including those running Google’s Android as well as Samsung’s alternative, Bada.
The two companies signed a co-operation pact deal in 2007 and this new arrangement signals a closer relationship, with Samsung supplying the hardware while Yahoo! chips in with services.
Android is already well-served by Google, but Samsung will be keen to encourage competition and Yahoo! will be pleased to provide an alternative - and a product they can both pitch to other manufacturers that like Android, but fear Google.
To Samsung, Bada is much more important than Android. This is Samsung’s pitch for a vertical platform – just like Apple’s iPhone model.
Samsung owns the platform, the application store and the aggregation servers (pooling social networking, instant messaging, etc.). This does not leave a whole lot for Yahoo! to provide beyond internet searching and a trusted brand to give credibility to Bada. ®
Biting the hand that feeds IT
