Some interesting facts have been coming out of the Google versus Oracle case centering on Android and patent infringement. We learned previously what the original planned Google phone would’ve looked like, lacking the touchscreen we’re all familiar with today. Another factoid that has surfaced is that Google originally wanted to subsidize the costs of data plans to promote the adoption of its operating system.
According to details, Google intended to subsidize data costs with T-Mobile for Android smartphone users to the tune of $9.99 per month. The plan was for Google to sell phones directly through its own store and T-Mobile would provide the data plans. Google would’ve taken no money from T-Mobile or the sell of the device and would have used that money to offset the cost of the data plan for users.
That sounds like a solid plan, and something that many people might welcome today. The deal fell through when T-Mobile never offered data plans at that price range. Google also found that directly selling smartphones didn’t work well. I’d still like to see cheaper data plans, and I bet most of you would too.
[via SlashGear]
