This is fantastic. By placing a cost on Google Apps, competitors have a viable place to provide an alternative offer at a lower price. This is exactly the sort of change we need here in the US as well. Mission success in Europe.
Probably the biggest question I have is that they still appear to be selling "bundles" according to the article, which seems contrary to the European decision. Is a phone manufacturer who licenses "the bundle" allowed to omit apps from the bundles? Or have the bundles been narrowly defined around the EU's current ruling of which bundles aren't allowed, and they're still going to force OEMs to carry specific sets of Google apps?
>“Android phone makers wishing to distribute Google apps may now also build noncompatible, or forked, smartphones and tablets” in Europe, Google said in a statement. “They will also be able to license Google Play separately from Search and Chrome, with full freedom to install rival apps as before.”
Probably the biggest question I have is that they still appear to be selling "bundles" according to the article, which seems contrary to the European decision. Is a phone manufacturer who licenses "the bundle" allowed to omit apps from the bundles? Or have the bundles been narrowly defined around the EU's current ruling of which bundles aren't allowed, and they're still going to force OEMs to carry specific sets of Google apps?