Symantec Executive: Co Will 'Evaluate' Working With Google
Android
By Jessica Hodgson, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SAN FRANCISCO -(Dow Jones)- Symantec Corp. (SYMC), the world's largest
security software maker, will "evaluate" working with Google Inc.'s (GOOG)
Android operating system if computers begin to use it significantly, an
executive said Thursday.
The comments by Janice Chaffin, who heads Symantec's consumer-security
software division, underscore that technology executives see Android, which at
least one computer maker will use on a trial basis, as a potential long-term
challenger to Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows. Acer Inc. (ACEIY) said recently
it planned to launch a computer using Android.
The computer is a so-called "netbook," a low-cost, lightweight computer.
Windows is the dominant operating system on personal computers, with over 90%
market share globally, but netbook manufacturers have recently experimented with
alternative systems such as the open source Linux and, more recently, Android.
While Chaffin emphasized that the overwhelming majority of Symantec's products
were sold to work on Windows and that Windows would remain important for some
time, she said Symantec would monitor the progress of Android and respond if
appropriate. Her comments suggest that the company could launch versions of the
Norton antivirus software suite, or other PC security tools, for Android.
"Today we're on Windows," Chaffin said. "We're going to evaluate things like [
Android] as it goes forward."
Netbooks present a challenge not just for Microsoft but for other software
makers such as Symantec, as purchasing decisions are increasingly driven by the
need for lower-cost software that puts fewer demands on computer hardware.
Chaffin was speaking at an event for financial analysts in San Francisco on
Thursday as executives at the company talked about their strategy.
-By Jessica Hodgson, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6455; jessica.hodgson@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-11-091420ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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