Google drops a Gmail-shaped bomb on Windows Phone
The ecosystem battle continues — For Windows Phone users, the news out of Google today couldn't be much worse. — The company announced it's removing support for Microsoft's Exchange ActiveSync protocol for new devices from January 30th, 2013.
Context & Ripple Effects
Google’s decision follows its refusal to build Gmail and Drive apps for Windows 8, reinforcing a pattern in which Google’s core services are less available on Microsoft’s newer platforms. Removing Exchange ActiveSync support raises the stakes because it affects the standard sync path for Gmail, contacts, and calendars rather than a single missing app.
First-order effects
- New Windows Phone devices activated after January 30, 2013 will lose Google Exchange ActiveSync as a built-in route for syncing Gmail data.
- Microsoft must address a core-service gap in Windows Phone just as Google is also withholding dedicated Gmail and Drive apps from Windows 8.
Second-order effects
- Windows Phone buyers who depend on Gmail, contacts, and calendars gain another reason to favor platforms where Google’s services are directly supported.
- Google gains more control over how its mail and personal-data services reach mobile users, while Microsoft has less ability to treat compatibility with Google services as a Windows Phone feature.
Third-order effects
- If major platform owners continue to restrict service interoperability, device ecosystems will compete not only on hardware and operating systems but on access to the everyday services users bring with them.
The trend: The Microsoft-Google rivalry is shifting from competing apps and search products toward control of the service protocols that determine whether rival platforms feel complete.