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Google's Crackdown On Android Partners Is Needed... And A Mistake.

According to Bloomberg, Google is cracking down on fragmentation.

Android partners will soon need to have plans pre-approved by Google. If they don't, Google will block access to updated versions of their "open" source Android software, prevent inclusion of standard Google apps like Gmail and Maps, and exclude them from the Android Marketplace.

By doing so, Google is looking to "encourage" better hardware standardization, and to minimize the number and types of changes manufacturers can make to the Android source code itself.

Why?

To cut down on Android device "fragmentation", and to prevent manufacturers from shipping products that might reflect badly on the Android platform.

All laudable goals. And, truth be told, probably needed. But the very idea of Android "standardization" could backfire.

Badly.

We have precedent for this, because Microsoft did the same thing with Windows, dictating ever stricter hardware standards and forbidding OS changes (though you were apparently free to install as much bloatware as you liked).

And the result?

Hardware among vendors was effectively identical. The software was identical. And manufacturers well left with little to differentiate a Dell PC from an HP PC from an Acer PC. Change the beige plastic to black plastic? Add some trim? Dell and Gateway tried to make a go of it via the customization route, but faced increased competition from manufacturers who were left with just a single weapon in their toolkit.

What happens when dozens of companies are producing identical products? You end up with a commodity. And how are commodities traded and sold?

On price.

And so manufacturers did the only thing they could do: undercut each other on price, to the point where PC profit margins were things best measured in dimes, not dollars.

I predict the same thing happening to Android.

With no significant differentiation, the majority of Android devices will end up being heavily discounted, or even given away as loss leaders by carriers and others attempting to lock subscribers into subscription plans. (Think Verizon and Amazon and even the New York Times.)

But look at it this way. Finally, Android will be "free".

The Blu-Ray/HD DVD War: Retail Revolutions

In our last installment of The Blu-Ray/HD DVD War, we discussed how Warner dumping the HD DVD format in favor of Blu-Ray could quickly lead to additional defections from Toshiba's HD DVD camp.

Which occurred, right on cue.

But instead of more studios following Warner as we originally surmised, these defections came in the guise of NetFlix and Best Buy and Wal-Mart, dealing HD DVD a fatal blow to its retail channel.

A surprise, perhaps, but such is the nature of betrayal.

And as such,Toshiba, with no chance to win, sued for peace, and ceded the battlefield to Blu-Ray.

But what triggered this new wave of betrayals?

The Blu-Ray/HD DVD War: Defections And Betrayals

It's said that the best alliances are made when all of the parties involved have a stake in the outcome and when each one is operating in the other's "mutual self-interest".

But what happens when an individual decides that his own best interests are no longer aligned with those of the group?

What happens when the other side starts winning?

Does that individual honor his original commitment and stand by his friends and allies? Or does he defect?

Buyers Beware: CompUSA Closing Stores

Long struggling computer and electronics retailer CompUSA announced Friday that it will be going out of business after the holidays.

After closing half its stores this spring, the remaining 103 stores have been sold to Gordon Brothers Group LLC, a Boston-based retail store liquidator. Gordon Brothers will be negotiating the sale of the real estate, the technical services business, the online site, and other assets.

Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

So if you're shopping CompUSA for Macs, iPods, or other holiday gifts, be aware that while you can probably score some good deals, the odds of returning defective or unwanted merchandise aren't good.

And whatever you do, do NOT buy the CompUSA extended warranty.

[via SFGate]

The Blu-Ray/HD DVD War: Fueling The Conflict

In our last episode of The Blu-Ray/HD DVD War, we went past the Blu Ray and HD DVD manufacturers and the motion picture industry to discuss other players with a stake in the game.

One such was Microsoft, who sells a HD DVD add-on player for their Xbox 360 gaming system, and so would seem to be seated firmly on the HD DVD side of the table.

However, movie director Michael Bay contends that Microsoft's support of HD DVD is more extensive than one might think.

And for an entirely different reason.

The Blu-Ray/HD DVD War: The Players...

In The Blu-Ray/HD DVD War: The Conflict Continues, we started out with an overview of the current battle between Blu-Ray disc and HD DVD, the two most visible contenders in the High-Definition format war.

But there are plenty of other players with a stake in the game. Let's take a look.

The Blu-Ray/HD DVD War: The Conflict Continues...

Sony CEO Howard Stringer recently said that the Blu-Ray and HD camps could have collaborated better in the past to develop a single high-definition format. Stringer even said that he wished he could go back in time to make that possible.

Regardless, the battle is still raging, as one side sells more disks and the other more players, with studios switching alliances, and the big box retail stores doing the same, often depending upon who's offering the cheapest player at the time.