Yes, Google (and partners) should be worried about Samsung's Android dominance
Liam Tung of ZDNet pointed out that Google is worried about the might of Samsung in regards to its Android platform. The theory is that Samsung's Android sales outpace the competition by such a large margin that the Korean company can put pressure on Google for better business terms.
Google certainly should be concerned about Samsung, and it's not the only company. As I outlined earlier this month, Samsung is the only Android smartphone maker that matters. Samsung's sales of both smartphones and tablets are far ahead of not just other Android players, but also the entire Android ecosystem. Samsung is Android.
Samsung has accomplished this through good hardware design coupled with intelligent Android customization that puts the customer first. The Samsung-Android fork is arguably better than Google's own version of the OS.
There are smartphones with better hardware on the market, but Samsung has put the entire package together to great effect. Decent hardware, good software, and great marketing combine to make Samsung Android phones a top brand. There are not very many in the US who are not familiar with the Samsung Android products.
Samsung is already what most consumers think of when they think of Android. If they think of Android at all.
Google knows that Samsung is close to reaching such a dominant level in the Android space that it may start asking for cuts in the lucrative search revenue, as Liam pointed out. Samsung is already in a position to do so, and it wouldn't be a surprise. It would be good business.
Samsung is already what most consumers think of when they think of Android. If they think of Android at all. Samsung is now the recognized brand of Android, the only one with legs.
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