Everyones getting so upset, but we knew they bought FitBit just to keep their pipeline of projects to sunset full. I mean theres enough here alone to be at least half of their 2021 sunsets.
Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
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Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
Google has a long and successful history of acquisitions, as also a long history of lack of direction and headless actions even in their youth days. It's probably just natural for a company with too much money to invest that way.
Please point at some of those successful Google acquisitions - the more I think about it the less I can point at anything apart from Android.
Might be because the big names are from their first decade, and in the last decade they focussed more on integrating companies, or are still working on making aquisations a success.
Google Maps and Earth started from an aquisation. Youtube was right out bought by them. Google Groups, Picassa, Blogger, Google Docs are more, though a bit less successfull.
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
Urrmm, Youtube, Doubleclick, Waze? Those have all been industry defining.
As someone stated below, YouTube is still not profitable. Waze is really not adding to their bottom line, and DoubleClick was to increase their advertising reach. It’s really not analogous to their hardware acquisitions.
"as someone stated"...
Google has never released Youtube numbers, so I can't say that. I will tell you that youtube is the dominant video platform on the internet. You do realize Youtube shows ads? and those ads are part of google's ad revenue? But the numbers have been inferred "YouTube probably generates $16 billion to $25 billion in annual revenue"[1]
Waze drives all of their google maps traffic data. Again, industry's best.
Doubleclick is the basis for ALL non text advertising at google.
I'm starting to get the picture you really just want to argue your point, without any actual facts. Google has a verifiable history of successful acquisitions. Just apparently non that you "like"
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/technology/youtube-financ...
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#154Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#155https://news.yahoo.com/google-acquiring-fitbit-130619853.htm... "Google has struggled to make much of a dent in the wearables category..." "Fitbit, meanwhile, has had issues maintaining growth in recent years." Failure + failure = success?
> Failure + failure = success? Well the world is not so simple. Apple + Next = ?
A bit off topic, but since you mention it: Apple + Next = OS X / Cocoa, which was, for a limited time, a positive development. Now, of course, it's on the decline because of iOS-ification and “Services”. They went from “Apple Computers” to “Apple”. In another 5 years it will be “Apple Services”.
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#156Eventually, all startups will be acquired into the FAANG companies, no matter whatever their "mission statement" is, just like Matryoshka dolls. Pebble -> Fitbit -> Google. I am sure there are more examples.
>Eventually, all startups will be acquired into the FAANG companies,
That fatalistic sentiment is often repeated but it's not inevitable that all startups will be acquired by bigger companies. The missing gap in that thinking is that people forget that the startup's founders have free will and must willingly agree to being acquired. I made previous comments about this with examples:
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#157Garmin and Apple have the fitness market covered. Fitbit never had the hardcore fitness market Garmin executed into and Apple has always had a product that works well across the wearable and fitness. Between these two companies I can't imagine there's much of a niche Fitbit does better. On the extreme hardcore triathlon user even Garmin has taken a lot of market from Suunto and the like. I've owned a handful of Garmi…
I'm confused by this comment. To me, Garmin is the only company here that does a good job with the "hardcore fitness" market, but why does that matter in the first place? The better market to compete in is the "fitness amateur" market, which I see as being many times the former in size. Fitbit competes well here, and Google has no offering to speak of. Seems like a successful diversification move for Alphabet's portf…
I think the point you're missing is everyone levels up. Even amateur fitness users want a better fitness wearable. Which is why Garmin and Apple have the lion's share of the market. Fitbit is still seen as a step tracker level device, even if they do more. Garmin wearables are laser focused to the workout market and most buyers seem to lust over the idea of needing a more capable fitness device. Garmin and Apple both cover "fitness amateur" in spades but do an upsell far better.
With regard to AI, I'm not trying to be flippant but, those users don't care. No amateur fitness users would even understand how that would apply and likely be less to care than selling predictive analysis to those working out who legitimately track vitals and are trying to shave seconds.
Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#158Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#159Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
#160All the folks talking about Wear not doing well, I'm always surprised the original Huawei watch wasn't more popular. I love mine, especially because I think it is one of the only smart watches that actually looks good as a watch.