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Eric Schmidt says Google won’t screw up Android ecosystem with Motorola acquisition

Categories: Android, Motorola
By: , IntoMobile
Monday, October 3rd, 2011 at 11:05 AM

When Google acquired Motorola over the summer, the biggest concern was that the relationship balance would shift away from the other manufacturers. Google reassured us that Motorola wouldn’t automatically be first in line to work on Nexus handsets, and Google ex-CEO (now Chairman) Eric Schmidt recently reiterated the sentiment in an interview.

“The Android ecosystem is the No. 1 priority, and that we won’t do anything with Motorola, or anybody else by the way, that would screw up the dynamics of that industry. We need strong, hard competition among all the Android players. We won’t play favorites in the way people are concerned about.”

That’s nice to hear and all, but I could hardly blame other manufacturers for still sniffing around Windows Phone as a contingency plan. In the interview, Schmidt also touches on the ongoing patent disputes, which he hopes will ultimately resolve with a “rough truce” where there are licese sharing agreements in place. He also touches on a number of other problems which are stunting innovation in the U.S. Overall, it’s a pretty interesting interview, and worth a watch below.

What do you guys think – are smartphone manufacturers going to stay cozy with Android with Motorola nestled comfortably under Google’s wing?

[via Bloomberg]

About The Author

Simon Sage

Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.