Samsung's growth is seen as a threat by Google

Samsung Electronics Co. and Google Inc. shook together the field of Apple Inc. in the Smartphone sector, but there are new tensions in the partnership.
Google executives are worried that Samsung has become so great-the South Korean company sells about 40% of handsets that use Google's Android software, which could force a renegotiation of the agreements between them and take part in the lucrative business of advertising on mobile devices of the American company, told people the couple.
Now, with the largest cell phone industry executives gathered in Barcelona, Google is talking to other companies in the hope that their Android devices may contain Samsung's power through legitimate competition, told people. The internet search company is cheering for the new Android devices from manufacturers such as HTC Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. are able to Samsung, told people.
Representatives of Google and Samsung refused to comment.
Inside Google, Samsung concerns are discussed openly.
In an event of Google in the middle of last year, Andy Rubin, the Director responsible for Android, praised the success of Samsung and said the partnership was mutually beneficial, said a person aware of the meeting. The growing power of Samsung, which sold last year nearly 200 million Android smartphones more than the second largest manufacturer of Android devices-boosted revenue from Google ads on mobile devices.
But Rubin also said that Samsung could become a threat if gained more ground among the manufacturers that use Android, said one person. Rubin said that the recent acquisition that Google made of Motorola Mobility, which produces smartphones and tablets running Android, served as an insurance policy against the possibility of a manufacturer like Samsung to gain too much power on the Android, said the person. Google reported that Rubin was not available for an interview.
Rubin's comments show how the company's relationship with Google is getting more complicated now that Samsung has been gaining momentum in the mobile market against competitors, like Apple.
Last year, Samsung sold 215.8 million smartphones, virtually all with Android, accounting for 39.6% of the world market, according to research firm IDC. Apple sold 136.8 million iPhones, or 25.1% of the Smartphone market. The two were paired in 2011, each with about 19% of the heated market, according to IDC.
Samsung increased its lead in smartphones Android, snapping up 40.2% of the market in the fourth quarter, against 38.7% a year earlier, according to IDC. Huawei Techonologies co. was in second place with 6.6%, the same slice of a year ago.
In the sector of tablets running Android, Samsung's share jumped to 27.9% in the fourth quarter, compared with 15.6% a year earlier, according to IDC.
That put Samsung ahead of Amazon.com Inc., whose Kindle Fire uses the Android tablet, and made the South Korean company, the largest manufacturer of Android tablets. Amazon had 21.8% of the market in the fourth quarter, down 34.5% a year ago.
The Samsung has a special power in his relationship with Google because the company's California-based applications that generate revenue, as the search engine Google and YouTube, come installed on almost all Android devices.
Amazon, on the other hand, uses a modified version of Android and do not have the Google apps on their devices.
Several people privy to the matter have said that Google fears that Samsung will require a bigger piece of the online ad revenue that Google gets with its search engine.
Samsung received more than 10% of this recipe in the past, said one of the people. But the company indicated to Google that may want more, especially as Google increases revenues with apps such as Google Maps and YouTube, said someone else along with it.
Outside observers are beginning to recognize the change in the nature of the relationship. "Samsung is a real danger to Google," said Rajeev Chand, Managing Director of investment bank Rutberg & co. "over time, the Samsung will be able to use its dominant market share to negotiate more advantageous agreements with Google."
This could include obtaining "best Android software versions before the other manufacturers," said Chand, and the ability to choose more applications for their devices.
Google said last year that it is on track to earn $ 8 billion annually with mobile devices. This figure includes the sales of ads on internet search engine that appear on Apple devices, as well as sales of music and videos on Android devices.
Several analysts estimate that Samsung grossed around $ 60 billion with sales of smartphones and Android tablets last year, compared with about $ 30 billion in 2011. In total, Samsung's revenues went from $ 180 billion in 2012, an increase of 20% over the previous year.
If Google's relationship with Samsung sour, the company in charge of the area could work with Android the Motorola Division-as well as the units of Apple's hardware and software work together with iPhones and iPads-to ensure that Motorola's Android devices are higher than those of competitors, they said people attuned to the way of thinking of Google.
Such a decision could nevertheless alienate other Android device manufacturers.
Google has said that it would favor the Motorola to the detriment of other manufacturers.
Samsung is expanding their range to make devices that run the mobile version of Windows software, Microsoft Corp., and the Citizen, the operating system that the Samsung is developing with the manufacturer of microprocessors, Intel Corp.
Meanwhile, Motorola has developed the so-called X Phone to compete with Apple's iPhone, and Galaxy S, Samsung, said people with knowledge of the initiative. Samsung reported on Monday that the Galaxy S IV will be released on March 14 in New York.
In December, Motorola stole the Director of strategic marketing at Samsung, Brian Wallace, who had worked in the highly praised mobile Galaxy's commercial for TV. Samsung, for its part, has been attracting engineers from Motorola last year, told people the couple.
Google and Samsung still consider themselves partners in the fight against Apple. This week, Samsung released its eight-inch Galaxy tablet, which would compete with the iPad Mini, Apple.
Google has hopes for rookies on Android as the H-P, said one person privy to the subject. During the cell phone World Congress, in Barcelona, the H-P presented his first series of Android tablets, which should hit the market around mid-year at competitive price, United States, US $ 169.99 the basic model.