Amazon Says Fear of Google Putting Off Vendors From TV Hardware Partnership (techcrunch.com) 28
Amazon says over half a dozen hardware vendors have indicated that they cannot enter into a TV manufacturing relationship with the e-commerce group over fear of retaliation from Google, escalating tension with the search giant with whom it competes on several businesses. From a report: The revelation, officially shared by Amazon for the first time, was made by the company's unit in India to the Competition Commission of India as part the antitrust watchdog's years-long investigation into Google over claims that it abuses the dominant position in Android. Google does abuse its dominant position in Android, the regulator said Thursday in a statement, slapping a $162 million fine on Thursday.
No bad outcomes (Score:3, Insightful)
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When did I, the customer, who just wants to watch TV become the bad guy?
Amazon and Google execs won't lose. Those of us wanting to watch TV will, be it through bundles we don't want, apps we can't uninstall that pop up ads on our TV randomly, or simply increased prices. The customers are the ones who lose - and I for one don't see myself as the bad guy.
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Pretty sure you can watch TV still.
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The consumer loses. The consumer ALWAYS loses in cases like this.
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Yeah, from a TV manufacturer perspective and consumer both, Google and Amazon are both pretty dicey prospects.
I still say that it would be so much better for the 'smarts' to be some sort of USB-C device.
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Amazon can also start a case with whatever anti-trust agency they feel has something to say about this.
Of course, they won't. Since I have very serious doubts any of their arguments is actually the reason for these companies.
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Worrying about Google? (Score:3)
Why? Odds are that Google would soon get bored and drop out of any TV initiative. It's what they do.
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Nah. Way too much potential to mine that sweet sweet personal data. Neilson only wishes they could get this kind of info about what people watch.
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That would make sense if Nielsen didn't collect this kind of data plus more data
Re:Worrying about Google? (Score:5, Insightful)
>That would make sense if Nielsen didn't collect this kind of data plus more data
"For national ratings estimates, Nielsen uses a sample of more than 5,000 households, containing over 13,000 people who have agreed to participate."
While this provides broad statistical significance, I imagine that Amazon and Google products would be mining all that info and whatever else they could from ALL devices sold. This is a significant difference in raw data that could give AI training and software a significant advantage. More data is always better.
Re:Worrying about Google? (Score:4, Interesting)
Are you kidding? The moment I turn my TV on, it will freeze and slows down until it has finished loading the content ads. This garbage must be making google a ton of cash. No way they'd kill it.
I will never buy another Android TV because of this disrespectful garbage. What's worse, is that a few years ago they had updated the Play Store to require a login. So I can't even update the TV apps unless I add my google account to the TV... Mind you, none of this was required when I bought the TV. And I can't even sign up for a junk account because they require a phone number now.
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fwiw, you can use the same phone number for up to a certain number of accounts per year which doesn't seem too unreasonable
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It is unreasonable to ask for any personal information in order to update a TV. It's a complete joke to actually remove the ability to update or install apps on a television unless signed into a google account.
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yeah, that's fair - I see your point
I still have my 720p dumb panasonic plasma set from 2007 - still going strong so I guess I'm spoiled (though I do use a streaming stick...)
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One of the few things Google is apparently sticking with is Google TV. It's just some interface mods to Android, so that makes sense. I for one would not buy an Amazon TV period, and I did buy a Google TV. I can see how Google might be acting anticompetitively (though I've seen no proof that they are, yet — it's not like Amazon is trustworthy) but I think Amazon is worse for the world than Google.
If we lived in a world where we enforced antitrust law, Amazon wouldn't even have their own TVs, or their
It's not fair when they do it! (Score:2)
Who do we trust the least? (Score:2)
I am not sure who I trust the least between Amazon and Google? I suppose the main thing is we never know when Google will get bored and then just cancel their contribution to the team. Amazon on the other hand, tends to pretty good at trying to monopolise things.
That's what they tell Amazon (Score:3)
It may be a very convenient excuse not to do business with Amazon, who is renowned for turning the screw on all their suppliers and using all its monopolistic might to squeeze every last cent of profit for the supplier out of the price.
Hey - greelighters (Score:2)
Maybe we could experiment with some kind of punctuation to make titles less . . . arduous to read. (I'd say confusing or ambiguous, but I get that's CLEARLY what we're going for here)
Poor Amazon (Score:2)
Google and Amazon have been fighting for years. Why is this a surprise?
https://www.engadget.com/2019-... [engadget.com]