Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) CEO Lowell McAdam said Samsung Electronics could be a "dark horse" in the battle among smartphone ecosystems if it puts substantial resources behind its own platform.
Speaking at J.P. Morgan investor conference Friday, McAdam said that Samsung could use its muscle to create a strong third mobile platform to counter Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android. McAdam and other carrier executives have repeatedly said they would like to see a strong third platform emerge.
"There's a potential elephant in the room with Samsung," he said, according to CNET. He also said that Samsung's recent patent-infringement court defeat to Apple, which revolved around claims related to Samsung's Android phones, could push Samsung to more strongly consider its own platform. Samsung produces phones running its proprietary bada operating system, but they are sold primarily in Asia. Samsung has also backed the Linux-based Tizen platform.
McAdam's comments are not surprising, he made similar remarks at an investor conference in September 2011. "The carriers are beginning to coalesce around the need for a third ecosystem," he said at the time, adding: "Over the next 12 months I think it will coalesce and you will start to see one emerge as a legitimate third ecosystem."
It seems carriers, or at least Verizon, are still waiting for that to happen. McAdam praised Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone 8 platform and said he is excited about upcoming Microsoft products. Verizon expects to launch multiple Windows Phones in the fourth quarter. "What I like about Microsoft, it's not tied to one piece of hardware," he said.
McAdam also said that the market should not count out BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM). RIM plans to unveil its first smartphones running BlackBerry 10 in the first quarter of 2013.
For more:
- see this CNET article
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