Four of China’s largest smartphone makers have launched a new initiative to build an alternative app marketplace to challenge the dominant Google Play store. Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo have come together to form the Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA), a new platform for dev games, movies, music and mobile applications in markets outside of China.
GDSA is set to open next month with nine countries including Russia, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia but, so far, it appears that no Middle Eastern or African countries have signed on.
Africa and the New GDSA
- SPLINTERNET: The GDSA provides more evidence that huge cleavages are coming in the tech world between a Chinese-dominated ecosystem and one led by incumbent players in the U.S. and Europe. If the GDSA is successful, and that is a BIG “if,” it would further isolate the two sides from one another.
- NO TRANSSION?: It is noteworthy that Transsion is not a member of the GDSA, which indicates that at this time the African and Mideast markets where Transsion’s phones are dominant will not be a part of this new effort. It’s not clear why Transsion is not a member of the consortium. It could be that given Google’s popularity in Africa, the company doesn’t see the value in creating a parallel marketplace.
SUGGESTED READING:
- Android Kenya: Chinese Device Makers Gang Up To Take On Google Play
- Hypertext Africa: Chinese smartphone makers want to challenge the Play Store’s dominance
