Microsoft Files Antitrust Complaint Against Google

Microsoft is finally taking steps in the right direction with WP7. They are finally releasing NoDo and things are really starting to look promising. In rectifying things on Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has launched a complaint with the European Commision citing that Google is being anti-competitive. Google has basically given Microsoft limited access to their YouTube services for WP7 and it all seems to stem from the fact that Microsoft has a competing search engine.

Senior V.P. & General Counsel of Microsoft Corporation, Brad Smith put out a statement on the TechNet blog, here is an excerpt:

“………First, in 2006 Google acquired YouTube—and since then it has put in place a growing number of technical measures to restrict competing search engines from properly accessing it for their search results.  Without proper access to YouTube, Bing and other search engines cannot stand with Google on an equal footing in returning search results with links to YouTube videos and that, of course, drives more users away from competitors and to Google.

Second, in 2010 and again more recently, 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.

Unfortunately, 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……….”

This makes me feel a little more at ease at the fact that some things on Windows Phone 7 haven’t been up to par. I have faith that Microsoft will do what needs to be done to get our phones running properly and will make sure that the smartphone staples such as YouTube are as good as other mobile OS’s, if not better.

Thanks to our tipster Riz!

Source: TechNet via Gizmodo

Image Source: Florida Venture Blog