TechHive: Phone makers roll their own operating systems as Google and Microsoft close ranks

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Phone makers roll their own operating systems as Google and Microsoft close ranks Sep 5th 2013, 10:00, by Ian Paul Sometimes, you can't help but pay attention to what the man behind the curtain is doing. Earlier this week, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Nokia's device and services business for more than $7 billion, effectively seizing control of the entire Windows Phone experience, from software to hardware to services. Just like that, the companies behind every major smartphone operating system now compete directly with their manufacturing partners. And while Google erected a "firewall" between Android and Motorola when it bought the handset maker in 2012, Microsoft has no plans to separate Nokia from the core Windows Phone business. It's full steam ahead for Microsoft-made smartphones as Redmond tries to single-handedly turn Windows Phone from an also-ran into a contender. "Vertical integration was hard to ignore with Apple, then Google. But now it's impossible with Microsoft going it on their own. What it emphasizes is that there is a need for a truly open mobile operating system." The sudden circling of the in-house wagons has to have third-party handset makers like Samsung, HTC, and LG sweating. "Vendors who are not tightly aligned with an operating system company…[have]…got to be looking at this and saying 'Maybe I should be looking a little more closely at how to chart my future by partnering or owning my own operating system stack,'" says Ramon Llamas, a research manager with IDC's mobile phone team. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Media files: threat_primar-100008981-small.jpg

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