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Google is huge in America, it’s big in Europe too, but for some strange reason they’re barely even considered a player in Asia. The most popular search engine in China, known as Baidu, recently took a note straight out of Google’s playbook and announced a new mobile operating system. The thing is though, unlike Android, which was built on top of Linux with a sprinkle of Java on top, Baidu is simply going to build on top of Android, and they’re calling their “new” platform “Yi”. It’s basically Android, stripped of Google apps, and replaced with Baidu apps, including Baidu powered maps, ebooks, (pirated?) music, deals, and cloud storage. This isn’t the first time a Chinese company has decided to build their own operating system and base it on Android. Anyone remember OPhone? That was built by China Mobile, the world’s larges operator.
According to Reuters, Dell has already shown some interest in becoming a hardware partner for future Yi devices. Sales in China have been on the up and up for the computer manufacturer, so hopping onboard the Baidu train while it’s still hot could help them grow even faster. That being said, Apple is also becoming hugely popular in China, and the Cupertino company has explicitly said that they’re going to put a larger emphasis on the Chinese market. Why wouldn’t they? It’s a country with over 1 billion people, many of them who only now are starting to experience what most Americans would recognize as a “middle class” lifestyle.
Curiously, no one has decided to hire the folks who work on MIUI, which is a custom Android ROM that adds a level of fit and finish to the operating system that even Google themselves would likely have never envisioned. At the end of the day, regardless of what flavor of Android, what matters is that more people are going to own smartphones, meaning more folks will have access to the internet on the go.
That’s always a good thing.
About The Author
Stefan Constantinescu
Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.
