Chinese Search Giant Baidu Using Android as Base for Its Own Mobile OS?
A new rumor has crept out of China that could see Google’s biggest Chinese search competitor, Baidu, stepping into the mobile OS business. That wouldn’t such a shocker save for one detail: the rumor goes on to state that the new OS being developed by Baidu could be based on Android’s open-source code. The new OS is said to be going by the name Qiushi, though the Chinese tech company claims that name is actually being used for an under-development mobile ad service. It isn’t a flat-out denial that a mobile OS is in development, however.
If the rumors pans out, Google would essentially be competing against a modified version of their own operating system in a battle to win valuable share of the growing Chinese smartphone market. Word is Baidu’s OS could be out by year’s end.
[via BusinessInsider]