Symbiosis

Thanks to KaiOS, Google and Jio are caught in a three-legged race

To beat Google, be like Google. So Jio is erecting a platform with the help of KaiOS to reach the Next Billion Users

Arundhati Ramanathan, 22 Apr 2019

Jio is erecting a platform similar to Google complete with an operating system, app store, apps, and an ad network

By enabling feature phone users to consume data, Jio has a lead on Google in the race to the Next Billion Users

Both the platforms have a common ally in KaiOS, whose tech turns feature phones into smartphones

This fight will transcend mobile phones

Few companies, if any, around the world have taken on Google and lived to tell the tale. From online searches to advertising, from email to smartphone software, Google is omnipresent and, more importantly, omnipotent. Yet it is looking to spread its tentacles even further, to the Next Billion Users, as Google calls the prospective Indian smartphone user.

Enter Reliance Jio, with its own blueprint to beat Google to these users.

AUTHOR

Arundhati Ramanathan

Arundhati is Bengaluru-based. She is interested in how people use money in the digital age and how new economies will take shape based on that interaction. She has spent over 10 years reporting and writing on various subjects. Previous stints were at Mint, Outlook Business and Reuters.

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This is a brilliant piece. Very well researched and explained.

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Thanks to KaiOS, Google and Jio are caught in a three-legged race