Google is preparing to release a “Google-branded” phone that will compete with Apple’s iPhone by the end of the year, according to The Telegraph.
Google already develops the Android operating system that runs 80 percent of smartphones sold around the world. Unlike Apple, Google doesn’t manufacture its own phones, and instead focuses on the internal software that runs them. Manufacturers such as South Korean-based Samsung and Taiwanese-based HTC partner with Google under the Google Nexus brand.
Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai said in May the company was “investing more effort” into phones, and the latest reports may mean they are on the cusp of a major release.
News that Google may soon enter the phone manufacturing market may have serious implications on current EU charges that the company engages in monopoly abuse by an effort to “crush” rivals to its mobile search service and Android operating system. The European Commission formally charged Google in April with monopoly abuse, stating Google abuses its market dominance to place “unjustified restrictions” on smartphone manufacturers and mobile operators.
The EU is targeting Google’s terms and conditions, which require manufacturers to have the Google Play app store. Google compels its manufacturers to also agree to installing the Google search app and Google Chrome web browser. The Obama administration sees the charges as a “campaign against US technology companies driven by economic protectionism.”
The European Commission possesses authority to fine the company up to ten percent of its worth.
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