Google Holds Off On Mobile Phone Launch In China
In the latest move between Google’s dispute with Beijing over Internet censorship and e-mail hacking, the Internet company announced Tuesday it has postponed the launch of its mobile phone in China, The Associated Press reported.
The move has been linked to the company’s threat that it will shut down its Chinese-based search engine if restrictions aren’t eased, according to one person briefed on Google’s decision.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the company concluded it would "not be a good experience" for consumers to receive a phone right now with its applications.
The planned Wednesday ceremony with local carrier China Unicom Ltd. was postponed, according to Marsha Wang, a spokeswoman for Google Inc., who declined to give a reason or say when the launch might be rescheduled.
With over 700 million accounts and increasingly prosperous customers who readily pay for the latest technology and services, China has the world’s most-populous mobile phone market in the world.
Beijing said the search giant must obey China’s laws and traditions — suggesting it was giving no ground in talks with the company.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said at a regular news briefing that foreign enterprises in China must adhere to China’s laws and regulations, respect the interests of the general public and cultural traditions and shoulder corresponding responsibilities.
“Google is no exception,” he said.
Beijing promotes Internet use for business and education but blocks access to material deemed subversive or pornographic, including Web sites abroad run by dissidents and human rights groups.
Because Chinese and foreign businesses rely on Google’s e-mail, maps and other services based abroad, pulling Google from the country could lead to disruptions if authorities try to retaliate by blocking access to Google’s U.S. site.
An attack in December that was determined to have come from China targeted Google’s infrastructure and at least 20 other major companies from the Internet, financial services, technology, media and chemical industries, according to Google.
An e-mail on Monday from the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China warned its members that reporters in at least two news bureaus in Beijing had said their Gmail accounts had been broken into, with their e-mails surreptitiously forwarded to unfamiliar accounts.
“China strictly prohibits computer hacking in any form,” said Ma, the foreign ministry spokesman.
Foreign companies such as Google should not pull out of China, according to the chief executive of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, which operates the China arm of Google rival Yahoo Inc.
"China will set the rule of (the) game in the 21st century, and businesses must not go to the mainland for the profit motives only but rather to take part in setting the rules," said Jack Ma.
After failing to gain market share against Chinese competitors, Yahoo turned over its China operations to Alibaba several years ago. Yahoo now owns 39 percent of Alibaba.
With more than 384 million people online, China has the world’s most-populous Internet market.
Google’s Android mobile operating system has been featured in a number of phones, starting with T-Mobile’s G1 in October 2008 and more recently with the Droid from Motorola.
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