That caused me to be silent for, I don’t know, a few seconds or so. Wait a minute? A non-Google app store on an Android device? That’s major news. And I didn’t see it anywhere in my usual news sources (though I might easily have missed something).

I checked the SIII, and there it was: a Samsung app store with the same logo as on bada, and with the expected unappealing content. Still, the content doesn’t matter; the perplexing fact is that a Samsung app store is allowed at all.

Don’t be evil

Ages ago, when Android 2 was still the up-and-coming technology, I was told the story of app stores and Android. The gist of it was that Google did not allow any competing app stores on Android devices on pain of cutting off the device vendor from security updates. Don’t be evil and all that. Open platforms, too.

In the next few years I encountered no facts that contradicted this story. However many Android phones I tested, there was always only one app store on it: the Android Market. Last weekend’s session with my friend was the first time I found that the situation had changed.

Samsung, HTC, and Sony

Back home I upgraded my new Galaxy Note from Android 2.3.6 to 4.0.3, and behold: the Samsung app store appeared. Including “Cut the Cheese (Fart Game).” Nuff’ said.

Yesterday I went to the local phone store where they have a up-and-running HTC One on display. (Phone stores in Holland rarely feature running phones.) Lo and behold: it had an HTC app store (HTC Hub or something), with the usual run of shitty apps.

Furthermore, the guy behind the counter was a Sony (Ericsson) fan and he told me his SE Android phone also sported a Sony app store. He assured me it contained useful apps, and for politeness’ sake I didn’t disagree too loudly. He also told me LG Android phones do not have an LG app store because they don’t run Android 4 yet. (Unconfirmed story; may be only about LGs released in Holland.)

Giving up the monopoly

So. Evidently something has changed.

Back in the day Google’s strict policy made sense — another reason I believed the story. It wanted a strict monopoly on app distribution in order to conquer mindshare among both developers and consumers.

Now, though, they do allow other app stores on Android 4 phones. The funny thing is: I predicted this back in September (see items 25 and 26). At last a prediction of mine comes true!

Device vendors were becoming dissatisfied with Android for two reasons: Google’s acquisition of Motorola, which fanned fears Moto would get preferential treatment, and Google’s increasing unification of Android as a platform.

Google, developers, and possibly consumers, want Android unification, while device vendors and operators want differentiation (which we call fragmentation if we don’t like it).

Device vendors (and operators) want to be able to implement their own (generally quite shitty) apps and interfaces on top of Android in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors. If the average consumer doesn’t care whether he buys a Samsung or an HTC Android phone, the hardware market has become commoditised, and the device vendors want to postpone that evil day as long as possible.

Google, though, forced a certain measure of unification down the device vendors’s throats. (Exactly how much unification remains to be seen; in the single test I did on the Nexus and the SIII I already spotted one browser difference.)

With this background, my theory back in September was that Google would have to make some concessions to the device vendors in order to keep them in the Android fold. Allowing them their own app stores was an obvious candidate. Lo and behold: that has happened.

Who benefits?

Back in September I also assumed that this would be a setback for Google, since it would have to give up its app distribution monopoly. Meanwhile I’ve changed my mind, mainly because of an offhand remark of my friend that people would expect the Google app store to contain the good apps, and would ignore the device vendors’ one.

That makes sense to me. The device vendors have got their own app stores, but their victory might well be Pyrrhic, since consumers aren’t interested in them because they know Google Play (née Android Market) contains the best stuff.

So Google effectively conquered consumer mindshare by enforcing its monopoly for a while, but it can afford to relax that policy a bit now that it needs political small change and consumers’ minds have been made up. Clever.

Still, this change in policy could conceivably backfire. Device vendors may be confused, but they’re not stupid. Eventually they’re going to notice that their app stores are hardly used, and don’t give them more control over their devices.

The solution? A new platform where their app store is the only way of getting apps. Samsung has Tizen waiting in the wings; the others don’t have an alternative, but I assume they’ll continue to search for it, as they have done ever since Google announced the Motorola take-over.

In any case, the Android game has changed subtly. It remains to be seen how much of an impact this change will have. In the short run it benefits Android, since device vendors have less reason to look for other platforms, but I’m not sure this will remain true for the next few years.

Stay tuned.