Google Delaying Android Phones In China

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In an official statement made to Dow Jones, a financial publishing company that has high importance on the American stock market, Google explained that they were postponing the launch of two Android-powered smartphones in China due to the recent disagreement between themselves and the country.

The models of the smartphones weren’t known, but they were from Motorola and Samsung, and were set to be released with China Unicom as the carrier. It’s interesting that Google has the power to stop the launch of the phones. On the surface, it would only appear that they developed the OS of the phones, but it’s clear that they have more clout in the business end of these phones than it might seem.

Google’s statement didn’t make clear if the launch was simply being delayed, or being canceled all together. A source within Google told Dow Jones that the search giant felt it was “irresponsible” to release phones in China with the “current uncertainty”. Google has said it wishes to stop censoring search results in China, or it will cease business in the country.

Considering that Android phones can heavily use applications developed by Google (Google Voice, Google Goggles, Google Maps, etc.), it isn’t clear how these applications would still run or work if Google pulled out of China.

When the Agence France-Presse asked a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson about the Google-China situation, he said he was “not aware of the situation” and didn’t hesitate to add that China was the “biggest victim” of hacking in the world. When the press asked him about Google’s ultimatum that they be allowed to stop censoring search results, the spokesperson said that all foreign companies in China needed to follow the country’s laws. “Google is not an exception,” he added.

As it stands now, Google, the US government and Chinese government are all reportedly in talks over the alleged Google hacking incident. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is going to give a major address on the US government’s policy on Internet freedom on Thursday.