Microsoft: Google hindering development of YouTube app for Windows Phone

Microsoft has trained its guns on Google. The software giant is alleging via a blog post that Google is preventing it from offering consumers a fully featured YouTube app for Windows Phone. Microsoft is attempting to put a little pressure on the search giant ahead of the impending results of a two-year-old antitrust investigation against Google that could result in a light slap on the wrist by the Federal Trade Commission. Google has been under fire by the European Commission, which publicly stated that it must address four areas of concern regarding its business practices, or face enforcement action. Dave Heiner, Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft, wrote, “You might think that Google would be on its best behavior given it’s under the bright lights of regulatory scrutiny on two continents, particularly as it seeks to assure antitrust enforcers in the U.S. and Europe that it can be trusted on the basis of non-binding assurances that it will not abuse its market position further. However, as we enter 2013, that is not the case. Here’s just one example: We continue to be dogged by an issue we had hoped would be resolved by now. Google continues to prevent Microsoft from offering consumers a fully featured YouTube app for the Windows Phone.”  Microsoft really wants a native YouTube app for WP This isn’t the first time Microsoft has complained about the YouTube issue. The company has reportedly pointed out its ineffectiveness on various occasions since 2010. Compared to its Android and iOS counterparts, YouTube on Windows Phone is just an icon for redirecting users to the mobile web version of the video sharing site. Microsoft has claimed that YouTube is keen to help Windows Phone users get the same experience as all users on other platforms but has apparently been stopped from doing so by Google executives. “Microsoft has continued to engage with YouTube personnel over the past two years to remedy this problem for consumers. As you might expect, it appears that YouTube itself would like all customers—on Windows Phone as on any other device—to have a great YouTube experience. But just last month we learned from YouTube that senior executives at Google told them not to enable a first-class YouTube experience on Windows Phones,” the blog read. It must be noted, though, that YouTube was released for Xbox 360 with much fanfare in August 2012. Google countered Microsoft’s claim in a statement to All Things D, saying, “Contrary to Microsoft’s claims, it’s easy for consumers to view YouTube videos on Windows phones. Windows phone users can access all the features of YouTube through our HTML5-based mobile website, including viewing high-quality video streams, finding favorite videos, seeing video ratings, and searching for video categories. In fact, we’ve worked with Microsoft for several years to help build a great YouTube experience on Windows phones.” The Windows Phone market has been in serious need of more apps and tweaks to existing ones to bring it to the same level as Android and iOS.