Google says Android isn't critical to its success

Google says Android isn't critical to its success

The Android smartphone operating system is a very important asset for Google Inc, but it is not critical, the company's chief executive officer said in courtroom testimony.

He said that Google would have preferred to have entered into a business partnership with Sun Microsystems, which developed Java and which Oracle acquired in 2010.

Such a partnership would have saved Google time in its efforts to bring its software to market, Page said, but the companies could not come to terms on an agreement. Instead, Google opted to use what he referred to as the "free part" of Java.

Asked if he could cite an example of a company besides Google that uses Java's application programming interface technologies but had not taken a license from Sun or Oracle, Page said he "was not an expert" on the matter.

Page also said he was not aware of Google's policies on the copying of the intellectual property of other companies. However, he said Google did nothing wrong.