????三星（Samsung）依賴谷歌（Google）的安卓操作系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)賺了很多錢。那么三星為什么還要反復(fù)嘗試構(gòu)建自己的操作系統(tǒng)呢？

????三星可以免費(fèi)在其Galaxy系列手機(jī)、Note系列平板和其它相關(guān)設(shè)備上安裝安卓的開源系統(tǒng)。三星相當(dāng)于把規(guī)劃未來功能、確保系統(tǒng)安全和維護(hù)應(yīng)用市場(chǎng)（谷歌的官方應(yīng)用市場(chǎng)Play Store已經(jīng)擁有150多萬款應(yīng)用）的任務(wù)都丟給了谷歌。最妙的是，三星還能從谷歌的移動(dòng)廣告收入中分一杯羹。

????那么三星為什么還要大費(fèi)周章去構(gòu)建自己的操作系統(tǒng)呢？因?yàn)樗茏龅健?/p>

????三星已經(jīng)多次嘗試發(fā)布運(yùn)行Tizen系統(tǒng)的手機(jī)了，Tizen是三星與英特爾（Intel）共同開發(fā)的系統(tǒng)。三星在這個(gè)過程中也做過不少承諾，如許諾在它的高端旗艦機(jī)型上使用Tizen系統(tǒng)等等。不過就在上周，三星發(fā)布了一款旨在進(jìn)軍印度等新興市場(chǎng)的低端Tizen手機(jī)——這相當(dāng)于承認(rèn)盡管付出了不少努力，但是Tizen還是缺乏吸引力。（三星和谷歌都沒有就此給出評(píng)論。）

????科技界早就在質(zhì)疑Tizen項(xiàng)目的魅力。一方面，移動(dòng)設(shè)備市場(chǎng)很大程度上是由蘋果的iOS和谷歌的安卓主宰，微軟（Microsoft）的Windows Phone和黑莓（Blackberry）的BlackBerry OS只能遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)落在后面亦步亦趨。如果有一個(gè)強(qiáng)勢(shì)的老三，必將提高市場(chǎng)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)程度，激勵(lì)進(jìn)一步的創(chuàng)新。而三星作為在全球范圍內(nèi)大獲成功的設(shè)備廠商，可以說是一個(gè)最合適的人選。

????ABI研究公司移動(dòng)設(shè)備、內(nèi)容與應(yīng)用高級(jí)業(yè)務(wù)總監(jiān)杰夫?奧爾指出：“如果說有人能成功構(gòu)建第三大生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，那一定是三星。他們能生產(chǎn)自己的CPU、調(diào)制解調(diào)器、顯示器、軟件……因此他們擺脫谷歌也是說得通的，而不是繼續(xù)把自己拴在自己無法控制的東西上。”

????另一方面，之前一些曇花一現(xiàn)的操作系統(tǒng)（如命運(yùn)多舛的Palm OS）也沒能打破iOS和安卓的雙頭壟斷。據(jù)市調(diào)機(jī)構(gòu)IDC估算，全球使用iOS和安卓以外的其它操作系統(tǒng)的設(shè)備還不足5%。那么作為韓國電子巨頭的三星，真的認(rèn)為市場(chǎng)上還有足夠的空間再容納新的系統(tǒng)嗎？

????大家可以思考一下Windows Phone的困境。微軟的規(guī)模也不小了，但是它的WP系統(tǒng)只占據(jù)了美國的市場(chǎng)的3%，在全球市場(chǎng)上的占有率甚至還低于這個(gè)數(shù)。其它移動(dòng)操作系統(tǒng)商的命運(yùn)也都大同小異，比如Pam、收購Palm后的惠普（HP）、諾基亞（Nokia）、黑莓還有少數(shù)其他幾家。

????因此，搭安卓的便車似乎是一種合理的做法。不過盡管谷歌的操作系統(tǒng)是免費(fèi)的，但是它并非沒有限制。比如谷歌自家的應(yīng)用和它的Play Store必須要預(yù)裝在手機(jī)里；像三星這樣的廠家必須與谷歌簽訂“移動(dòng)應(yīng)用分銷協(xié)議”，在協(xié)議中，谷歌對(duì)其合作伙伴生產(chǎn)的每一部安卓手機(jī)都有明確的要求。

????其中包括：

????? 谷歌將是設(shè)備上所有“連接點(diǎn)”的唯一搜索引擎，除非用戶自己下載了其它替代應(yīng)用。

????? 谷歌的搜索欄要被放置在手機(jī)或平板電腦主頁的最頂端。

????? 必須有一個(gè)名叫“谷歌”的文件夾，里面包含大量谷歌的應(yīng)用，比如Gmail等常用應(yīng)用。

????Samsung has made a lot of money selling smartphones based on Google’s Android operating system. So why is Samsung trying again (and again, and again) to build out a competing operating system?

????Android, which is open source, is free for Samsung to install on its Galaxy phones, Note mini-tablets, and other connected devices. It allows Samsung to outsource to Google the concerns of planning of future features, locking down security, and maintaining a marketplace, the Play Store, with more than 1.5 million apps. Best of all, it actually earns Samsung a cut of Google’s mobile advertising revenue.

????So why would Samsung bother with its own operating system? Because it can.

????Samsung has tried many times to launch a phone running Tizen, an open-source operating system it is co-developing with Intel. It has made many promises along the way, such as using the OS for its high-end flagship devices. This week, it revealed that it would instead chase low-end devices in emerging markets such as India—an acknowledgement that, despite its efforts, Tizen lacks traction. (Neither Samsung nor Google responded to requests for comment.)

????The technology community has long questioned the merits of the Tizen project. On one hand, the mobile devices market is largely dominated by Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, with Microsoft’s Windows Phone and the BlackBerry OS trailing far behind. A strong third player would heighten competition and spur further innovation, and Samsung—a massively successful manufacturer of devices around the globe—is best positioned to be it.

????“If anyone can succeed at building that third ecosystem, it’s Samsung,” said Jeff Orr, senior practice director for mobile devices, content, and applications at ABI Research. “They make their own CPUs, modems, displays, software . . . it makes sense they would have a strategy to move away from Google, rather than locking themselves into something outside their own control.”

????On the other hand, previous operating systems (such as the ill-fated Palm OS) failed to disrupt an apparent duopoly. Less than five percent of smartphones around the world use operating systems that aren’t Android or iOS, according to estimates by IDC, the market research firm. Does the Korean electronics giant really think there’s room for one more?

????Consider the plight of Windows Phone. Microsoft MSFT -1.48% , no mom-and-pop shop, has just 3 percent of the U.S. market and even less share globally. Or perhaps consider the mobile OS remainders bin: Palm, HP (after buying Palm), Nokia, BlackBerry, and a handful of others.

????So hitching oneself to Android seems sensible. Yet while Google’s operating system is free, it is far from without constraints. For Google’s own apps and its Play Store to come pre-installed on a phone, companies like Samsung must sign “Mobile Application Distribution Agreements” that dictate requirements that Google GOOG 0.50% has for every Android phone and tablet that ships from its partners.

????Among them:

????? Google will be the only search engine used on the device at all “access points” unless the owners themselves download alternatives.

????? Google’s search bar will be at the top of the foremost home screen on the phone or tablet.

????? A folder labeled “Google” containing a large number of Google’s apps and prominent placement of certain apps such as Gmail.