As Google Evacuates China, SAIC Launches Google Android Powered Car

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: March 21st, 2010

as google evacuates china saic launches google android powered car

Talk about unfortunate timing of a product launch: Just as Google is getting ready to pack up and leave China, SAIC is making last preparations to launch their Google Android powered homegrown luxo-barge Roewe 350 at Beijing’s Auto Show (April 25 -May 2, 2010, I’ll be there.) The Rover Roewe will be added to the growing list of Google Android-based devices just as the spat between Google and China is turning into a full-fledged brawl.According to ZD-Net, the Android platform will help the Roewe 350 “keep drivers and passengers connected to the web while on the open road.” The DVD and GPS system will be running the most recent OS release: Android 2.1. ZD-Net says “amenities include direct web access and real-time traffic reports. The system also provides access to chat applications.” (Don’t tell LaHood. He could start at trade war over driver distraction in China.) Chinese drivers will be protected from the distractions of Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Blogspot and more, as these sites are blocked in China anyway.How the car will connect to the Internet is not clear yet. There is conventional GSM in China, which doesn’t have the bandwidth. Then there are two competing 3G standards. One, used by China Unicom, is compatible with worldwide UMTS standards, the other is a homegrown system that is used by the world’s largest mobile phone provider, China Mobile (527.398 subscribers as of January 2010.)

Google had planned to launch its Android phone in China in January with China Unicom, but delayed the launch over the row between Google and the Chinese government. The silence over RoeweÄs network provider probably has a reason.Government-owned China Daily reported yesterday that “Google will close its business in China next month and may announce its plans in the coming days.” The move appears to be definite.A Google-obituary already appeared in China Daily, saying that “Google’s relations with the US government cannot be deeper. US media has said Google was the fourth-largest supporter of Barack Obama in his election campaign.”Today, China’s state-owned news agency Xinhua launched a defiant op-ed missile in the direction of Mountain View: “Whether Google leaves or not, the Chinese government will keep its Internet regulation principles unchanged.”There probably is a lot of head-scratching at government-owned SAIC over the choice of the Android platform. But there is no going back. According to China Car Times, production of the Roewe 350 has already started on March 17, including the gadgetry based on “the 2.1 Android operating system, which is the same as what you will find in Google’s latest Nexus handset.” If the Chinese will ever find the handset in China. In Hong Kong, the phone is available.There are a lot of people who are convinced that a ghost lurks in the machine of the Toyota cars. Now imagine the magnitude of the fall-out if Google evacuates China, leaving Google-powered orphaned Roewes behind. Then, a Roewe 350 smashes into a group of bicyclists …

#Android #BertelSchmitt #China #Google #Roewe350 #SAIC

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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4 of 5 comments

Pacificpom2 on Mar 21, 2010

Who cares about Google leaving China on a car site? I'm more interested in what appears to be a lcd screen for dash instruments. Now you can now reskin the instruments to whatever you desire. Customisation to the hilt. Plus wasn't this style of dash in the new Jaguar's? So the link between Roewe, Rover and Jaguar just got a little stronger.

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- Nicodemus on Mar 22, 2010
  
  fwiw, Jaguar and Rover are now owned by Tata, so there link is now very strong id say.
  
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- Colin42 on Mar 22, 2010
  
  Jaguar & Land Rover are owned by Tata but this is not in any way connected to Roewe When BMW sold Rover group to phoenix group then only leased to Rover name but included the rights to the MG name. Upon the collapse of MG Rover as it was then called BMW sold the rights to the Rover name to Ford, who brought it to protect the Land Rover brand. I think (but can't be sure) that Ford sold the Rover name to Tata as part of the JLR deal
  
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PeriSoft on Mar 21, 2010

That thing's got more blue lights than a K-Mart ad campaign.

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