Thursday, June 01, 2006

OBSERVATION://Skype/Dell v. Google/Dell

Skype scored a deal with Dell to have its client pre-loaded on a new range of notebooks. That is somewhat remarkable, considering that:

  • Google and Dell recently signed a deal for Google apps to be pre-installed on Dell PCs.
  • Google and Nokia signed a deal to have Google Talk pre-installed on a new Nokia device.
  • Skype-parent eBay formed an alliance with Yahoo!

What can we conclude?

  • Deals are usually non-exclusive (except eBay/Yahoo! and AOL/Google).
  • Microsoft is the company conspicuously missing in the above (but the Messenger interoperability with Yahoo! is due this month).
  • As web apps are seeking to expand exposure, it must be the platform owners that benefit from upfront payments.

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