Alibaba snub sparks Google offensive

The planned launch of a smartphone powered by technology from Acer Inc and backed by an operating system (OS) developed by Alibaba Group's cloud computing unit came off the rails last week after Acer bowed to pressure from Google to halt the release. According to reports, Google had claimed that Alibaba's OS copied part of its Android system.

Actually, Google's ire was likely provoked not by seeing its product ripped-off, but by the fact that Alibaba was not willing to admit that it had borrowed from the US tech giant's OS.

Many mobile device makers have developed their own operating systems based on Android. Amazon's Kindle Fire and Xiaomi Technology's MiOne, for example, are both powered by operating systems that clearly took most of their cues from Android. Yet, both firms have publicly acknowledged their debt to Android and neither was pursued by Google with infringement charges.