The future of Android Silver, Google’s rumored premium support initiative for its mobile operating system, is in jeopardy. The program has been put on hold with some inside the company questioning whether or not it would be successful if launched according to a new report from The Information.
As the narrative goes, retailers, smartphone manufacturers and wireless carriers weren’t entirely sold on Android Silver to begin with. It probably didn’t help matters when Google sales boss Nikesh Arora left the company back in July to take a position with SoftBank.
In addition to other duties, the executive was reportedly in charge of the search giant’s business relationships with wireless carriers and handset makers.
If you recall, Android Silver is the premium branding and support initiative that first hit the rumor mill back in April. According to scuttlebutt, qualifying devices would be required to run the latest version of Android with little or no manufacturer / carrier customization (bloatware).
Whenever a user buys a qualifying device, trained staff at the wireless carrier would be instructed to help the buyer transfer any data over to the new phone. What’s more, the buyer would have access to round-the-clock customer support.
In the interim, Google’s smartphone division has plenty to keep it busy. Just yesterday, Google kicked off its Android One program in India – a reference program that manufacturers can use to build low-cost smartphones for developing markets. Devices released as part of the program will get software updates directly from Google which allows for a better overall user experience.
