Baidu announces Android OS alternative, confirming its mobile aspirations

At present time, Baidu’s a desktop web browser / search engine based in China that’s meant to mimic Chrome (though it’s actually wrapped around IE code). The company, however, has its sights set on conquering the mobile front as well, introducing Baidu Yi OS at its annual get-together. The new platform is essentially a forked version of Android, which will provide a lot of the same functionality and services we’re used to seeing from Google; Baidu, though, is adding a dash of flavor by throwing in its own bundle of apps — such as native maps, reader, music, web apps, and even a program similar to Google Places — as well as strong cloud integration for backups, storage and sharing. The new OS will likely be up against intense competition from Nokia , Alibaba , Xiaomi and Windows Phone Tango (amongst others), so the Chinese mobile space may get rather interesting in the coming years. Baidu announces Android OS alternative, confirming its mobile aspirations originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 11:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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