In a relatively low-key announcement, Amazon (AMZN) confirmed it has partnered with Samsung (SSNLF) on a “Kindle for Samsung” initiative.

AMZN didn’t even bother to publish a press release, but in a nutshell, Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and tablets receive a customized version of Amazon’s Kindle app for Android that is optimized for the devices and offers owners 12 free e-books yearly.

In other words, Kindle for Samsung cuts out all the other devices running Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system.

And while an e-book app certainly seems like small potatoes for a company delving in countrywide shipping and streaming video … it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Kindle for Samsung could represent something so much more.

Namely, a first step in a SSNLF/AMZN alliance that fights back against Google’s dominance, threatening Android’s dominance and ultimately putting GOOG’s critical mobile ad revenue in jeopardy.

The Players

Amazon: The poster case of Android forking, Amazon took the open-source version of Google’s Android operating system and turned it into Fire OS. Unlike stock Android, this version has pretty much all things Google cut out of it — users shop online, download apps and access digital media through Amazon, not Google Play; Google apps are nowhere to be found; and Kindle tablet owners browse the web using Amazon’s Silk web browser — with Microsoft’s (MSFT) Bing as the default search engine.

Samsung: Samsung has become the poster child for Android. Google’s mobile OS might dominate, but Samsung alone accounted for just under one-third of all smartphones sold globally in 2013 and 19.1% of all tablets sold that year. In both tablets and smartphones, the next closest manufacturer offering Android accounts for about 5% of global sales. Samsung is a huge company with many divisions, but is very reliant on its mobile division for profits, with smartphones alone accounting for over two-thirds of its income.

Google: Despite increasing its presence in hardware, GOOG still makes the vast majority of its profits from advertising. With mobile ads becoming increasingly important as smartphones and tablets push out traditional PCs, Google responded by buying Android and making it free for smartphone and tablet manufacturers. Google’s strategy helped Android take a big lead in mobile market share, and with its platform firmly entrenched, GOOG is able to ensure its apps and services are used – driving up that mobile ad revenue.

The Samsung/Google Cold War

Samsung and Google have both benefited from their partnership, but some cracks are starting to develop.

In particular, GOOG is obviously aware of the fact that it might have created a monster in SSNLF. Having Android dominate the mobile market is great, but having one manufacturer — Samsung — responsible for so much of that growth is worrisome. Because if Samsung has brand loyalty and switches to another operating system, it could decimate Android’s market share and bludgeon Google’s mobile ad revenue.

Google has made moves to reduce the threat, including the purchase of Motorola Mobility, but after quickly selling the division to Lenovo (LNVGY), on the surface it appears to have given up on the idea of competing against Samsung’s Galaxy line of flagship smartphones.

However, GOOG has been pushing a secret weapon called Project Ara, a new platform that aims to do to smartphone hardware what Android did to mobile operating systems: completely disrupt it.

Under Project Ara, smartphones become a skeleton frame with plug-in modules from third parties that allow users to pick and choose their capabilities, replace modules at will and build a device tailored to their needs and budget.

Of course, these smartphones all run Android.

Project Ara kills the smartphone upgrade cycle that has consumers buying a new iPhone or Galaxy every two years. And though it seemed like one of those crazy Google projects that goes nowhere only a few months ago, an official Ara developer’s conference has already been held, and Google announced that the first Project Ara smartphones go on sale in January 2015 starting at $50.

For its part, Samsung is ramping up use of Tizen — its own open-source operating system — turfing Android from its smartwatches in favor of Tizen and prepping a pair of Tizen-powered smartphones for release.

Then Google announced Android Wear, aimed at making Android the standard for wearable technology.

The two are also battling in the growing home automation market, with Google acquiring smart thermostat maker Nest Labs just after Samsung announced its Smart Home platform.

How Amazon and Samsung Could Turn the Tables on Google

In a word, “teamwork.”

Namely, Samsung starts making Amazon tablets. In turn, Amazon Fire OS is used on Samsung devices, becoming the “new Android.”

It might sound crazy, but the two have enough complementary abilities, as well as similarities, to make it work.

AMZN has its own operating system that’s Android-based, along with a sizeable AppStore (currently at 200,000) and increased interest from developers thanks to Amazon Fire TV’s game-playing capabilities. Its Kindle Fire tablets put it in fourth place among tablet sellers, but its overall market share has slipped (from 6.6% in 2012 to 4.8% in 2013). Apps, services and selling goods are what it does best.

Samsung, on the other hand, makes best-selling hardware, but is facing challenges by Google to its cash cow smartphones and attempts to expand into new categories like wearables and home automation.

Fire OS is already close to Android, and Samsung would have the clout to boost that Amazon AppStore even higher. GOOG loses its biggest Android supporter — and likely a big chunk of mobile market share with it. Meanwhile, Amazon gains on Google Play.

And as long as Microsoft’s Bing remains the search of default, Samsung and Amazon have the opportunity to rain on Google’s mobile ad revenue parade.

Bottom Line

I’m not saying this scenario will play out. Honestly, in all likelihood, one of the parties will back down before things escalate further. Samsung becomes an Android Wear partner. Or Google quietly drops Project Ara.

But in these times of clashing high-tech giants, the seemingly innocent Kindle for Samsung app partnership very well could be the start of something bigger for AMZN and SSNLF, and something horrible for GOOG.

If nothing else, the potential for disruption alone is reason enough to consider it on the table until it’s not.

As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.