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by Gordon Kelly 10 May 2013 | Go to comments
Last week our HTC One vs Samsung Galaxy S4 head-to-head concluded that Samsung no longer makes the best Android phone. But after developments this week, I wonder whether Google wants Samsung to continue making Android phones at all.
What happened?
In an unprecedented move Samsung announced a deal on Thursday to make an established, high profile Android app incompatible with every Android smartphone except its own. The app in question is ITV Player, the catch up service for ITV - the UK's largest independent terrestrial broadcaster.
Needless to say the news wasn't phrased like that. Samsung celebrated the agreement, noting the rise in people wanting to use their mobile devices for video and an ITV spokesperson blamed the fragmentation of Android as a key motivation in its decision. It wasn't, it was money.
If ITV wanted to avoid fragmentation it would have chosen to make its app compatible with only pure versions of Android - something available to any rooted Android handset, and which discourages fragmentation. Meanwhile Samsung may recognise the demand for such an app, but it has just removed this option for millions of non-Samsung handset owning ITV app users. ITV said it plans to (re)launch for app for other Android devices "in the future", but didn't put a date on it.
Was this a one-off move that Samsung doesn't intend to repeat elsewhere? Don't be silly. Will such moves cause even greater fragmentation of Android? Absolutely. Will it damage Android? Absolutely. Not only has the deal put the platform's fragmentation again in the headlines, but now it is also headline news that its key apps can be bought up to make this even worse. Everyone hurts except for Samsung, and Google hurts most of all.
Yes rivals could start doing the same thing. But Gartner states Samsung sells more Android smartphones than HTC, Sony, ZTE, Huawei, Motorola and LG combined and Samsung could easily outbid the competition for anything it wants. Big app developers can also cash in on this trend with incentives to make sure their apps are made with compatibility for Galaxy ranges first, and what Google has coded second.
But why would Samsung want to hurt the goose that lays the golden eggs?
Weak Android = strong Samsung
Here is a dirty secret: it is in Samsung's interest to damage Android.
Each successive generation of Samsung's Android phones has been more laden down with TouchWiz customisations and non-removable Samsung apps than the last. In the Galaxy S4, for example, 7GB of its internal memory is taken up its custom apps and highly tweaked version of Android. This is 1GB more than the Galaxy S3 and more than twice the size of a clean Android install partition. Samsung has been building an operating system on top of an operating system.
It is a classic Trojan Horse tactic. Android had unstoppable momentum, Samsung fought hard to become the chief beneficiary of it and now it wants an Apple-like control of its destiny. When Samsung adds software to its Android phones it believes it improves them, when Google updates Android with similar features it enables the competition to catch up.
Fragment Android and you stop the competition improving and mainstream customers learn only Samsung's Android phones are worth buying. Only Samsung has the resources to keep improving a stalled OS - though the tactic only works long term if you have an exit strategy.
Samsung wants to be like Apple
The exit strategy is called Tizen. Tizen is a mobile operating system built by the Linux Foundation, but primarily funded by Intel and Samsung. It is open source by nature, but the two primary investors have scared away rivals.
Conveniently Tizen is covered with TouchWiz so to the casual observer it looks identical to Samsung's Android phones. It can also easily run Android apps with a code tweak and Samsung would also have big-name natively-coded apps if only it could tie up some deals with… oh wait.
So break down Android to hurt rivals, switch to Tizen with all of Android's app goodness (plus exclusives) and promise customers the unity Android was never able to deliver. Samsung needs to hurt Android now if it is going to create a big enough crack in it to open up room for another operating system in the market.
Samsung has a track record. It failed to do this once with Bada (which is actually merged into Tizen) and will inevitably follow through more strongly this time. A high profile Tizen phone has already been promised by September.
Of course Tizen is just part of the puzzle. Having its own platform is one thing, but Samsung has also learnt from Apple that the ecosystem around it is equally important. As such Samsung's market leading televisions, monitors and laptops have all been gaining features that make them exclusively work better with Samsung's phones. There are audio docks specifically for Samsung phones too. The pieces are all in place.
Do no evil
None of which means we should feel sorry for Google. Samsung may be trying to manipulate Android for its own ends, but Google has attempted to do the same with Windows, Mac and iOS for years.
Visit the Google homepage with a browser other than Chrome and you'll always be nagged to install it. Use Google's apps on iOS and they form their own Trojan Horse ecosystem. This month Google tightened the knot even more, making Gmail, Google Search, Google Voice Search and Google Maps all default to one another cutting Apple's core apps out the loop.
Find you're using all Google's apps on your iPhone and before long you'll wonder why you don't just switch to Android. It isn't nice having your own tricks turned on you.
Paranoid Android
Then again hypocrisy isn't the point, Google is reaping what it sowed. Android was created with the key message that it is open source and that partners are encouraged to develop it. As iOS took off, it was this which was critical to establishing Android as the next viable alternative. Control was freely relinquished, but exploitation was not expected.
Furthermore Samsung is only the start. Where it has headed in relatively subtle steps Amazon has charged like a bull in a china shop. If Amazon can follow up its tablets with a compelling phone, the combination of Samsung and Amazon success could see Android ripped to pieces.
On their own these partner woes may not bring Google to a tipping point, but they are not on their own. Google also faces a rapidly spiralling EU antitrust investigation. It is accused of exploiting its monopoly in search and Android has been thrown under the spotlight too because it has crept over the threshold of 70 per cent market share.
Increasingly the solution looks to be control. Insisting partners use stock Android would immediately create a strong image for customers of unification, it would also make it easier for handsets to be upgraded, which reduces fragmentation. Partners that step away would reduce Android's market share and end the monopoly-based antitrust investigation.
Of course one of those partners could be Samsung, but arguably that would be a good thing…
一笔1000万元的货物"出口"80次,可以贡献8亿元亮丽的出口数据。
刘涛(化名)是深圳一家电子出口企业老总,这个"深喉"昨天向《第一财经日报》记者揭开了一些外贸企业出口虚增的"暗道",其中一大隐蔽手法是,境内企业通过伪造出口获得境外贷款的资质,由此套取外汇入境。如此这般,这笔"本金"既可以获得利率和汇率的差价收益,也可以用来购买银行短期理财产品。
这类犹如秃鹫般逐利的资金便是业内俗称的热钱的一种。就近来说,造假企业通过"出口"香港就能获得这样的套利资金。
解剖类似的案例可以部分解释近期内地对港出口"坐火箭"的原因,亦成为海关和外汇管理部门有的放矢加强监管的现实教材。
漂亮的数据
海关总署周三公布的数据显示,4月进出口数据均明显高于市场预期,其中出口同比增长14.7%,高于上月的10.0%。前4个月,内地与香港双边贸易增长66%。而在3月份,内地对香港出口则增长了92.9%,创造了从1995年3月以来的最高增速。
事实上,就在海关公布4月数据的前两天,国家外汇管理局发文要求严打贸易项下可疑操作。结合人民币自4月下旬的连续狂飙,有关热钱借道经常项登陆的猜测成为市场主论调。
亦有多家外资机构引用韩国、中国台湾以及中国香港的数据称,其进口数据与海关公布的出口数据不尽相符。
尽管海关总署曾强调,内地对香港的出口和香港对来自内地的进口统计方面存在口径等差异,但市场认为这不足以完全解释数据高涨的全部原因。
法兴银行经济学家姚伟称,内地与香港的贸易数据存在一些猫腻,主要原因是存在大规模投机性资本借道贸易账户进入内地。
本报记者根据海关总署的公开数据计算,4月内地与香港的贸易同比增长了55%,而对其他国家和地区的增幅则是12%;同时,内地对香港贸易顺差为382亿美元,而当月整体顺差规模是182亿美元。
"与我们交谈过的一些企业承认,他们正在进行一些利率套利行为。我们估计,这对贸易规模增长数据(包括进口和出口)形成的偏差约为3~8个百分点。"姚伟在其报告中指出。
国信证券首席分析师周炳林则称,(内地与香港贸易转口数据两端)偏离的部分原因就是企业虚报出口骗取退税以及虚假货流配合资金入境。
经济学家们坐在办公室的分析得到了刘涛现实案例的证实。
"同一批货物,假如通过"香港一日游"等贸易形式反复来回80次,出口1000万元的货品,将变成8亿元。"他说,企业这样进进出出反复倒腾,目的未必是为了骗出口退税,根本原因还是使大量资金通过贸易的渠道进入了内地。
通常来说,企业制造虚假出口的目的包括这几类:骗取出口退税;降低销售税负(为规避内销税率,采用到港澳"走一遭"的方式,再以几乎零关税进口内地);"搬运"热钱入境套利。
3月份贸易数据令市场眼前一亮之时,本报就报道,有公司通过深圳保税区货物"兜圈游"日赚汇率差200万元。
"对外贸易热起来,并不是国际经济形势好转在推动,最大的推手竟然是"理财"驱动。"刘涛说。
操作手法
在整个热钱套利链条上,伪造巨额贸易是第一步,关键步骤是通过"内保外贷"获得外汇资金。
所谓"内保外贷",是指境内企业向境内银行出具信用凭证等担保条件,并在银行存入一定金额的资金后,其境外子公司可以从境外银行获得融资。比如,企业在内地银行存入一亿元,香港公司那边银行贷出美元或港元。
刘涛称,企业的产品自己卖给自己,手中拿着货物贸易齐全的单据,要办理"内保外贷"业务不难。
以香港为例,刘涛说,内地银行与香港银行之间的利率差,内地银行推出五花八门的理财产品,以及今年来人民币升值加速,这三大因素,促使一些人通过贸易渠道把境外的资金调到境内。
本报记者了解到,在香港地区港元贷款年利率一般是2.25%至2.5%、美元是2.19%,而内地五大行一年期存款利率是3.25%。一般中小银行存款利率为3.3%。
这样就存在一个百分点左右的利差,假如有1000万元资金,"利润"就是10万元。此外,还有人民币升值的因素,以及各种动辄4.3%以上年收益的理财产品,1000万元资金进来,一年收益不下几十万元。
"但仅1000万元是不够的,必须腾挪分拆出多个1000万,要设法像孙悟空一样吹毛变出无数小猴,货物贸易就是最好的载体。"刘涛说,同一批产品进进出出多次,就可以把1000万元的货款变成8亿元。尤其是人民币升值加速时,"香港一日游"变得更活跃。"
需要注意的是8亿元只是伪造出口的金额,企业需要以此为"凭证"在境外获得贷款。
今年来,人民币升值加速,目前已冲破6.2的大关。来自中国外汇交易中心的最新数据显示,5月9日人民币对美元汇率中间价报6.1925,较前一交易日继续上涨55个基点,已连续第四个交易日上涨,并再次刷新汇改以来纪录。今年以来,人民币累计升值已超过1%。
业内人士称,以前虚报出口需要把货物真正拉到"港澳一日游",而如今这种情况却在发生变化,仅在保税区内就可以完成"一日游"。
"货物就在保税区里,有专业人士可以帮你把所有进出口所需的出口合同、信用证等等单据全部弄齐全。"刘涛说。
而一外贸公司业务员陈某则告诉本报记者,广东外贸量大,有些保税区监管不严,同一样货品,甚至在不进行加工的情况下,也可以在保税区"出口仓"到"进口仓"来来回回,有时为了掩人耳目,只是换了一下外包装,完成了出口转内销。
深圳福田保税区内一家提供虚假出口"业务"的公司人士也反映,今年一季度,这家公司曾经帮助一位客户将同一批橡胶原料来回出入境操作了41次。
合力监管
除了上述做法,还有外贸企业通过虚开发票、提高出口报价引入热钱,但这并不是新创意。早在2012年热钱进入亚洲初期,就有学者对本报记者表示,在中国资本项目未完全放开的情况下,热钱很有可能借道经常项进入内地市场。
跨境交易监管机构国家外管局已经出台了一系列法规来抑制资本流入,其中包括约束银行保持外汇净敞口的能力,同时采取严厉措施抑制重要的非贸易相关渠道的资本流入,严格限制虚报单证等行为。
本报记者从接近决策层处了解到,高层已开始关注广东深圳等地近几个月来"登峰造极"的对港贸易数据,并可能严查原因。另有多位外贸系统人士透露,相关部门从上月起已开始严查虚假贸易。
海关方面的监管也在升级。深圳市经信委官员告诉本报记者,正对福田保税区等海关特殊监管区内的企业进行监测和整顿。
"最近,海关查得非常严格,基本每柜货品都要开柜检查。"深圳一家玩具企业的老总昨日告诉本报记者,"之前经济不好时,海关还是比较松的,不一定都开柜检查,这令企业有作弊的空间,有些企业骗取退税或洗钱是时有发生的。"
有业内人士担心,出口数据"虚增"会影响到国家宏观经济判断出现偏差。"目前,国际经济并没有明显回暖,出口不可能这么热,而且高技术产品出口屈指可算,低附加值产品转型为高附加值产品需要一定的时间,希望有关政府部门要重视目前的情况,勿认为形势一片好转而过于乐观。"
中国国际贸易学会常务理事、清华大学中美关系研究中心高级研究员周世俭告诉本报记者,随着多个政府部门目前齐发力,出口虚增的势头已得到遏制。这从一些地区接下来的出口数据中可以看出。
2013年5月11日,福建泉州市惠安县东桥镇,近千村民围攻南湖村委会,群众向防暴警察投掷石块和砖头,警方不敌而撤离,一警被村民扣押。
愤怒村民冲进村委会将前来的镇长、县长和两名年轻女公务员被带到南湖小学关起来,两女更被脱得精光以防逃跑。
事件起因在于型厝海三万多亩海域被"泉州外走马埭"工程征用,政府部门及施工单位严重违反法律、法规、暗箱操作,既没有与村民协商,也没有给予合理补偿,发给村民的拆迁费也不翼而飞,又打算建造高污染的炼油厂,引起了民众的强烈不满,怒声四起。村民多番抗议,政府视若无睹。
5月4日,大批警察手持电棍追打村民,许多人被打伤和被捕。10日晚,警察进入珩海村抓人,引发二千多人的大冲突。
11日上午,警察继续抓人,许多老人在路上被强行带走,事态进一步激化,村民觉得已被逼上绝路,遂群起围攻南湖村委会,作最后的拼死一搏。
当局增派大批武警进入当地,村民亦做好"打仗"准备,目前事件仍在发展中。
最新消息,双方达成交换人质协议,村民释放被扣押的政府人员,警方则释放被捕的十多名村民。
型厝海位于湄洲海南岸,惠安县东桥镇境内,这次工程影响的范围包括珩海、珩山、南湖三个行政村和东桥村的东埭雅、西埭雅等,共有居民三千户,人口一万三千人。
北京,中国——来自各地的政府网站消息显示,上周各地都在学习中共中央办公厅印发《关于当前意识形态领域情况的通报》(中办发[2013]9号文件)的通知。虽然各地均没有透露文件内容,但重庆表示,"中央对当前意识形态领域值得注意的七个方面的突出问题分析深刻、态度坚定,对意识形态领域斗争的尖锐性、复杂性有更加清醒的认识。"
通过搜索,可以发现,上周重庆江津区、市城乡建委党组,西藏广电系统、吉林辽源市委组织部、河南安阳政协、江苏省委干部纷纷召开会议,组织学习中共中央办公厅印发《关于当前意识形态领域情况的通报》(中办发[2013]9号文件)。
会议通稿没有透露文件的具体内容,相关新闻稿在5月13日下午开始逐步被删除。但通过各地新闻稿可以了解到,各地普遍要求对党员加强信仰、党性教育,引导党员干部明辨理论是非;要在思想上政治上行动上同党中央保持高度一致,严守纪律;今后工作中需加强对当前意识形态工作的领导,尤其强抓宣传和互联网领域管理等等。
其中重庆城乡建设委的新闻稿透露,"中央对当前意识形态领域值得注意的七个方面的突出问题分析深刻、态度坚定",但是各地均没有明确指出哪7个方面存在突出问题,一些猜测认为可能与之前高校要求教师不讲"普世价值、新闻自由、公民社会、公民权利、党的历史错误、权贵资产阶级、司法独立"有关。
重庆的新闻稿中还要求对党员"加大中国特色社会主义理论体系的教育灌输力度,始终保持理论上清醒、政治上坚定",宣传方面则要求"从源头截断错误思潮和言论的传播渠道。强化网络管理,加强舆论引导,净化网络环境,不给不法分子任何可趁之机。"此外,江苏省委书记罗志军也强调了上述几点。
对于上述要求,一些左派网站和人士与前段时间习近平提出的"两个不能否定"有关,认为这是在批评反毛人士,左派人士还称这个通知会传达到县级一层干部,不过上述猜测并没有得到权威证实。
这并非中央首次提出意识形态领域需要注意的问题,2012年《求是》曾刊文总结中国共产党90年来推进意识形态工作的历史经验,其中提到关键的一点就是"党对意识形态领域的思想领导就是大力宣传社会主义思想,抵制和批判一切错误思想,使社会主义思想逐步占领整个意识形态领域",此外文章还提及了中共如何与各种反动思想及西方"和平演变"进行斗争的情况。此次引发网络关注可能与近段时间高校收紧教师授课内容、大规模封禁敢言人士微博帐号等做法有关,加上近段时间发生了多起社会高度关注的事件,且舆论最终矛头直指政府工作不力。
在各地学习文件的新闻稿中,也提到了此次中央对地方政府解决实际工作中遇到的新问题和矛盾给出了指导,显示出社会发展过程中涌现出的新问题以及围绕它们展开的社会讨论、新的思想令政府感到措手不及,2012年7月,党建网曾提到各种反马克思、非马克思化思潮影响中国主流意识形态的权威认同。