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Oh Dear: Google Acquires Motorola For $12.5B

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by martian, Aug 15, 2011.

  1. martian

    martian Server Monkey Staff Member

    Location:
    Mars
    http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/08/google-motorola-acquisition

    This is an interesting development to say the least. Ownership of Motorola gives Google much needed hardware manufacturing facilities, allowing them to compete in a more direct fashion with Apple and RIM. It also has the potential to allow them to increase market penetration by way of slower and cheaper "low end" smartphones to replace some of the top feature phone markets.

    I know we have some Android fans around here. Any thoughts on the implications of this?
     
  2. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I think a more direct hardware integration/diversification makes complete sense for a company like Google, which has built a cash-rich empire on the software/services side of things. When looking to future growth, this kind of growth into the hardware side makes sense in terms of guaranteeing a) tech development that is friendly to Google's value proposition, and b) a line of products hardwired (i.e. fully integrated) towards using Google's value proposition. (Sorry for the marketing-speak.)

    As a Google and Android user, I'm looking forward to seeing what this means. I'm not a huge fan of Sony Ericsson's X10. It wouldn't take much to encourage me to go with a highly rated Google/Motorola product to replace it when it comes time. I'm interested in the low-end offerings. I'm not a big features guy. I like basic functionality as long as it performs well.
     
  3. Frosstbyte

    Frosstbyte Winter is coming

    Location:
    The North
    I think it makes sense, as well. One of the things Apple is always touted as being able to do uniquely from many other manufacturers in the tech industry is to have a monopoly on the hardware AND software that goes into its devices. While it's become increasingly open to getting chips from other manufacturers, the design and the integration is all within Apple's control, which gives them better opportunities to put out a more polished product. They don't always take advantage of those opportunities, but that's another thing entirely. By acquiring an established mobile phone manufacturer, Google can try to build towards the same goal. Android has been often criticized for working differently on the phones of different manufacturers. If Google can really set itself into making the Motorola brand the Google/Android brand, it can provide a baseline of hardware specifications and expected performance that other companies and consumers can look to in marketing and shopping for their own devices. I think that will benefit everyone.
     
  4. spindles

    spindles Very Tilted

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    I wonder how companies like Samsung feel about this? I'm currently using a Google branded Samsung phone (Nexus-S). I'm kinda assuming Google isn't trying to kill these other 'android' manufacturers, but is really doing this to heavy up its ownership of patents, to fight the Apple 'I will sue everybody' mentality.
     
  5. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Oh, I'm pretty sure it's going to be all-out warfare now. Alliances will be forged and broken. The marketing war machines will sharpen their teeth. Price wars will ensure, followed by battles of technological oneupmanship. The legal battlefields will be replete lawsuits.

    However, in the end, it will probably benefit the consumer.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  6. martian

    martian Server Monkey Staff Member

    Location:
    Mars
    I want to think that other Android manufacturers (HTC, LG, Samsung come to mind) will play nice if only for the sake of being able to stick with the platform. Google showed during the whole recent Facebook thing that they're not afraid to walk away from partners who aren't holding up their end of the bargain, whatever that bargain may be. If the third party manufacturers get uppity there's nothing really preventing Google from taking their ball and going home, which leaves said third parties out in the cold. Nobody in the mobile business wants to be without a smart phone platform these days -- it'd be corporate suicide.
     
  7. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
  8. ace0spades

    ace0spades Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Vancouver
    Didn't this have something to do with patents as well?
     
  9. spindles

    spindles Very Tilted

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    ace0spades - I think you might've suffered "OP reading failure" ;) Patents are definitely mentioned a lot in the original article posted.
     
  10. ace0spades

    ace0spades Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Vancouver
    Definitely, I just woke up from my second of four night shifts this week when I posted that.
     
  11. ejkwt

    ejkwt Vertical

  12. ejkwt

    ejkwt Vertical

  13. Ice|Burn

    Ice|Burn Getting Tilted

    This was more about patents and defending Android against the cartel of Apple, MS, and Oracle. Sure Google will now be able to "make" phones themselves but that really isn't the case since they've already stated they will run Motorola Mobility as it's own separate entity. Android is under some very heavy litigation and Google has come up very wanting in the defense of a great OS. I look forward to seeing Apple quake in their boots once they realize how badly they just got served.
     
  14. Ice|Burn

    Ice|Burn Getting Tilted

  15. ejkwt

    ejkwt Vertical

    Interesting read. I haven't read any other news article or comment even surmising Google to buy tmo -- please happen please happen. Anything but AT&T