War Breaks between Amazon and Google
I like it when battles become obvious: Google is blocking Amazon devices from accessing YouTube. Now, you cannot use Echo Show to access YouTube. Same fate is coming to Amazon Fire TV this January. Amazon is not an altar boy either: it has blocked the sale of Nest home automation products in its ecosystems. Google (yes, Alphabet) bought Nest few years ago.
In an unusually frank statement, a Google spokesperson squarely blamed Amazon’s unwillingness to strike a business deal with Google for the step:
“We’ve been trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give consumers access to each other’s products and services. But Amazon doesn’t carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home, doesn’t make Prime Video available for Google Cast users, and last month stopped selling some of Nest’s latest products. Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and FireTV. We hope we can reach an agreement to resolve these issues soon.”
This is the core attitude of these IT conglomerates and explains why I never think you should expect them to be of help to your country or continent if that does not make good business sense.
That is how capitalism has worked in America: it is a contact sports played with money. There is certainly no decency except that laws make men behave well and pretend to "do no evil". Amazon is a threat. Google cannot just be a good boy. And Amazon knows that its best product, the ecommerce, can mask Google Nest. So Google is worried.
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The reality is that Google will lose this game because Amazon has moved on. Who cares if you have Nest in America if no one can find it on Amazon? Without Amazon, Nest will struggle. This is the typical one oasis strategy and Amazon is taking advantage of its ecommerce platform.
But Amazon cannot be unscratched: many Americans will not buy Fire if they cannot use YouTube.
That reminds me: net neutrality is not just about cable companies. But since it is Amazon vs Google, no one really cares. If Verizon does it, then activists will be activated. But in reality, if you buy a device and cannot access an open web like YouTube, it should not matter if beloved Google is causing it or Comcast/Verizon/AT&T. Cable companies need to build products with Like buttons!
Oh yes, Amazon and Google are fighting on one at the moment. Amazon said it clearly in the refereed link above when it hinted on "open website".
Amazon shot back Tuesday afternoon, sending Variety the following statement:
“Echo Show and Fire TV now display a standard web view of YouTube.com and point customers directly to YouTube’s existing website. Google is setting a disappointing precedent by selectively blocking customer access to an open website. We hope to resolve this with Google as soon as possible.”
This is the problem: Amazon was able to build on Android and executed a different app store for its devices that does not depend on Play. Google is not happy and is afraid that what happened on Android can repeat where Amazon will feed on its technology, free. So, the battle goes on.
Tech giants and their power play, let them sort themselves out.
