Guest Blueangel180 Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Crazy news just in—Google is acquiring the handset division of Motorola, Motorola Mobility, for $12.5 billion. This means Google could soon officially in the hardware business. Could, because the deal has to pass regulatory scrutiny from governments around the world plus the eyeballs of Motorola's shareholders. But should that all clear, this is a big, big deal. From the press release (below), "the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business." HTC, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG and the other Android manufacturers must be quaking in their boots today. That said, despite offering 32 phones—21 of which have Android baked in—Nasdaq pegged Motorola with a paltry 3% market share as of the beginning of this year. Not exactly a commanding force. Then again, that was before Google was at the reins. Some additional thoughts: • Google putting out its own hardware makes things super awkward for Google's Android partners, and could be the best thing that ever happened to Windows Phone. Samsung, HTC, et al, are going to need another avenue of attack, since Motorola branded products are going to theoretically have a major advantage, even if Google insists they're going to have to compete like every other phonemaker. • What does this mean for Google's retail skills? They totally boned the original Nexus launch. On the one hand, now they've got Motorola's supply chain and competencies. On the other hand, Motorola lately hasn't been all that amazing (3 percent share, and that's with the most visible Android brand name on the market). • Motorola's got something like 21 Android handsets. Does that mean we're suddenly going to have two dozen phones running stock Android? That would be kind of incredible. At the same time, other OEMs are probably going to be even more aggressive with their skins so that they can "differentiate." In an ideal world, they're forced to find a way to actually improve the Android experience. In reality, they're probably just going to screw it up more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest targetbsp Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 (edited) They're in it for the patents after everyone else teamed up against them with Nortel. Edited August 15, 2011 by targetbsp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BruxoMor Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 They're in it for the patents after everyone else teamed up against them with Nortel. Agree 100%. But other manufacturers like HTC and Samsung will not be happy about this. Will Nexus Prime be a Motorola? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest k0zmic Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 (edited) They're in it for the patents after everyone else teamed up against them with Nortel. Agree with that too. I was really surprised when I saw the headline for it. @Bruxo From their statements they don't sound too unhappy, but I guess they don't tell too much or their full feelings. Peter Chou, CEO, HTC: We welcome the news of today's acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem. Bert Nordberg, President & CEO, Sony Ericsson:I welcome Google's commitment to defending Android and its partners. Jong-Seok Park, President & CEO, LG:We welcome Google's commitment to defending Android and its partners. J.K. Shin, President, Samsung, Mobile Communications Division: We welcome today's news, which demonstrates Google's deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem. I think they also stated that whoever wants to build the Nexus's would have to bid, even Moto. Edited August 15, 2011 by k0zmic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest t0mm13b Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 (edited) It was certainly surprising news that has sent shock-waves throughout the telecoms industry. Yes its for the patents in order to fight back against the recent Apple/Microsoft/Nokia's acquisition of Nortel patents portfolio worth 4.5$ Billion. So yes, Google had their opportunity now to fight back to protect and in turn, hopefully, strengthen Android in the fighting corner of the three - Apple's iOS, Microsoft/Nokia's WP7 and Google's own. Charming offensive maneuvre I'd say :) P.S: Just saw on twitter - "Google's Moto Mobility deal may have had Microsoft roots, comes with 2.5$ billion break-up fee http://t.co/U0SpF4j ... sigh.... the plot thickens now :rolleyes: B) Edited August 15, 2011 by t0mm13b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deadphill Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Guys This is off topic. Please keep the conversations in the right areas. Cheers Phill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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