Google has taken a rare and public pot shot against some of its biggest competitors including Microsoft and Apple. In an official blog post, the company's senior legal officer David Drummond said that a group of other businesses have taken upon themselves to wage a campaign against Google's Android operating system
Drummond says that Microsoft, Apple, Oracle Corp and others teamed up recently to secure the many patents held by the now shut down Nortel “to make sure Google didn’t get them.” He also points out that Microsoft has made recent deals with Android-based smartphone makers that allows Microsoft to get license fees from each of those devices that are sold in an attempt to “make it more expensive for phone manufacturers to license Android (which we provide free of charge) than Windows Mobile”. Microsoft and Apple have also filed patent lawsuits against a number of Android-based device makers.
Drummond says in the blog post, “We’re not naive; technology is a tough and ever-changing industry and we work very hard to stay focused on our own business and make better products. But in this instance we thought it was important to speak out and make it clear that we’re determined to preserve Android as a competitive choice for consumers, by stopping those who are trying to strangle it. We’re looking intensely at a number of ways to do that.” He added, “. Unless we act, consumers could face rising costs for Android devices — and fewer choices for their next phone. “
Microsoft has struck back with a Twitter message from its own general counsel Brad Smith stating, “We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no.” Apple and Oracle have yet to respond.
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