Google’s Delayed Benefits from Android
Many people may ask why has Google put so much time and money into Android, when they are not benefiting from it. What they don’t realize is that Google is actually building up to what could be an enormous income from this partnership. Whether or not they directly get money from Android doesn’t matter. By directly connecting to the Android, Google gains information about what is popular among the overall population. They can find out what items are popular with countless topics: music, games, celebrities, foods, etc. This knowledge alone is a goldmine for a company of Google’s caliber.
The network between Google and Android is a great benefit for both companies. Google gains all of the above benefits along with getting their name out to the public (although most everyone knows about google.) Both companies benefit from externalities. Android gets the what is essentially free software from Google, and they get to use Google’s name in their product, which by itself is a huge benefit. At the same time, Google gains a customer every time an Android is purchased which increases their welfare. They are able to obtain the personal preferences from each user, to an extent.
http://thecustomerfactory.com/2011/12/how-google-benefits-from-android-and-you-can-too/
-Dunkey