Report: Google stops Acer from launching Aliyun phone in China

Acer has been forced to delay its launch of a mobile phone running on Alibaba's mobile operating system, Aliyun OS, due to pressure from Google.

A report Thursday by Tencent Tech said the Taiwanese PC maker planned to launch the 2,999 yuan (US$473) CloudMobile A800 phone in Shanghai on Thursday. However, the event was cancelled at the last minute.

The organizers did not give a reason for the cancellation but said the launch will be delayed with no given time frame, the report said.

The tech news site later received a press statement from Aliyun at 4pm which said its partner, persumably Acer, was forced to cancel the event due to pressure from Google.

The U.S. Internet giant reportedly said it will terminate its Android-related partnership and technology licensing if "the partner" releases products running Aliyun OS.

In the statement Aliyun said it believes that Aliyun OS will provide choice for consumers and phonemakers. However, it respects its partners's decision, the report said.

Acer was supposed to be the third company to bring an Aliyun phone to the market, after K-Touch and Haier.

This week, an executive from Alibaba said the company hopes to push its Linux-based mobile OS to become the "Android of China". He added that the local OS provides a better user experience with no challenges to functionalities such as maps and e-mail.