Microsoft have today voiced their concerns about Google in Europe. They’re unhappy with various Google “practices” including blocking access to parts of YouTube that Android phones can access…
“Google blocked Microsoft’s new Windows Phones from operating properly with YouTube. Google has enabled its own Android phones to access YouTube so that users can search for video categories, find favorites, see ratings, and so forth in the rich user interfaces offered by those phones. It’s done the same thing for the iPhones offered by Apple, which doesn’t offer a competing search service.
Google has refused to allow Microsoft’s new Windows Phones to access this YouTube metadata in the same way that Android phones and iPhones do. As a result, Microsoft’s YouTube “app” on Windows Phones is basically just a browser displaying YouTube’s mobile Web site, without the rich functionality offered on competing phones. Microsoft is ready to release a high quality YouTube app for Windows Phone. We just need permission to access YouTube in the way that other phones already do, permission Google has refused to provide.”
I can only presume that Bing is perceived as a threat to Google – not Windows Phone 7 itself. Other complaints include Google blocking access to content owned by book publishers, stopping advertisers accessing their own information and stopping sites using competing search boxes.
A full run-down of the issues can be found on technet.
Link – technet.com
Via – BBC News
http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_on_the_issues/archive/2011/03/30/adding-our-voice-to-concerns-about-search-in-europe.aspx