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What's Good For Google May Not Be Good For Its Partners

While there's still no confirmation that Google will launch its own smartphone, some of its 47 hardware, software and chip partners are worried that Google might keep the best new Android apps and features for its own phone, reports Olga Kharif. One analyst even went so far as to suggest, "This could destroy the Open Handset Alliance."

Google is lending considerable engineering talent, brand cachet, and marketing muscle to the project. Phones powered by Android are becoming best sellers for hardware makers including Motorola and such carriers as Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA. Meantime, developers are hard at work not only refining Android but also building thousands of games, tools, and other applications for Android devices.

By itself, the prospect of Google marketing its own phone isn't causing much consternation. Indeed, a Google phone would raise Android's profile all the more, benefiting Google's partners. But, "If you lose an edge [to Google], it does impact you," one partner notes.

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