AT&T CEO: We’re Happy Where We Are With Android Compared to Verizon
Shocker (that was sarcasm, in case your meter isn’t working correctly): Randall Stephenson – AT&T’s controversy-riddled CEO – has gone on the record to say that their relationship with Google and Android is just fine and growing each and every day.
He mentions verizon as Google’s biggest carrier partner here in the United States, and says that he’s not worried about that (gee, I wonder why?). To date, AT&T’s only carried one Android device – the Motorola Backflip – with their new mid-range offering coming in three days with the HTC Aria.
Even though we expect them to bring the Dell Streak out sometime in July as well as a rumored high-end device from Samsung sometime this summer, it’s entirely safe to say that they lag behind the competition in many ways (we’re not counting the Nexus One, here).
Randall also comments on their desire to push Yahoo! Search on most of their devices, stating they don’t like Google’s decision on keeping their own search engine as the operating system’s default. The reason? It’s anti-open-source. I’m not going to go too deep with trying to argue Randall’s statements, but how is being given the ability to change Android’s default search and services experience to whatever you want “anti-open-source”?
Wouldn’t it be more “anti-open” to flatout deny the customization of Android in any way you want? Isn’t it more “anti-open” to strip your devices of their natural ability to go above and beyond what an “app store” or the Android market provides? I’m not going to question Stephenson’s true stance in throwing these thoughts out in the air, but I will sign off of this story using one of my favorite quotes since I was a child: the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
[WSJ via TalkAndroid]