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Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

cnbc.com

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Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#611

Post by qroshan »

cletus wrote: post #325

Oof. Goodbye Fitbit. Or, rather, welcome to the world where you're a pawn in internal politics. You may think you have a product but you don't. If your product survives (as in, Google didn't buy you just for the team), your product schedule will have to survive the interests of every other PA/team in Google. - You think you have software to run your products? Ha. The Android team will have a different opinion. - Even…

Ummm. Fitbit was already on the downward spiral. So, they'll take this lifeline from Google. Thank you very much

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#612

Post by sixstringtheory »

Toury2d wrote: post #610
sixstringtheory wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tunnels are passive, people are creative. Adding a second tunnel doesn’t require interplay from the first. Adding a company of people is subject to whatever the sociological equivalent is of Amdahl’s law, whereby there is extra overhead to coordinating their work with your current employees, and don’t forget cultural integration.

I wouldn't exactly say running a 100 yard dash is creative.

Let me ask you this: why do we run 100 yard dashes? (If you'll allow, I'm going to ask you up to four more whys, maybe we'll find out something interesting!)

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#614

Post by kops »

Well done Google. So now you won't spy on me only when I am typing something on a computer or phone but also when I breath or when my heart beats. *uck FitBit. There it is in the dustbin and everyone else I see wearing it is an idiot or is an idiot. I hope insurance companies don't make it mandatory to provide my google account details while signing up. But who am I fooling.... So much for "Don't be Evil"....RIP

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#615

Post by akerro »

kops wrote: post #614

Well done Google. So now you won't spy on me only when I am typing something on a computer or phone but also when I breath or when my heart beats. *uck FitBit. There it is in the dustbin and everyone else I see wearing it is an idiot or is an idiot. I hope insurance companies don't make it mandatory to provide my google account details while signing up. But who am I fooling.... So much for "Don't be Evil"....RIP

>So much for "Don't be Evil"....RIP

https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/10/02/as-google-becomes-al...

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#616

Post by jschwartzi »

hugi wrote: post #446
habitue wrote: post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> as in, Google didn't buy you just for the team 2.1B isn't an acquihire. They want the customers, the team, and the manufacturing chain at the very least.

Nah, what they want is me, ie. my data. I'm throwing away that fitbit (Google Personal information gathering device) and deleting my account. I'm informed enough to make that decision. Unfortunately thousands of users that just got sold out are not. Fuck Google.

I just deleted my Fitbit account and will for sure be confirming whether it's deleted in 7 days.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#617

Post by icinnamon »

If one doesn’t want their data to be consumed/owned by Google, what’s the best alternative fitness band (not smart watch) on the market? I specifically do not want all of the smart watch features... just fitness/health tracking.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#618

Post by tooltalk »

OnlineGladiator wrote: post #469
tooltalk wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the Motorola acquisition wasn't a disaster. It's just that many didn't understand Google' intent with Motorola. Google tried to take a stake in Nortel's patent bid, as the wireless patent war started heating up in 2011, but it eventually bailed out. Google instead went after Moto's patent portfolio. It bought the entire company, which came with $3B free cash and tax credit, and stripped off unnecessary assets it didn…

> All in all, Google ended up paying less than $4B for what they had previously valued at $5B. A month ago WeWork was valued several times higher than it is today. It doesn't matter if you got a good deal on paper - what matters is if you got a good deal.

Sure, they got a good deal. Moto's wireless patents were second only (or maybe third) to Qualcomm's in term of quality and they generated a steady stream of licensing revenues before and after the acquisition. Unlike WeWork's unproven business model, the wireless industry's successful revenue generating licensing practices were in place for a decade and Moto's patents were worth quite a bit.

Now let's not forget why Google bought Moto's patents. Just before Google's acquisition, a consortium led by Apple bought Nortel's old, lesser patents for $4.5B. Ever heard of Apple's patent troll outfit Rockstar (or Mobilestar)? They tried to run a patent extortion ring against Android OEMs in the famed Eastern District of Texas with Apple behind the curtain. That is, until Google and Samsung's countersuit convinced the courts that the patent troll's litigation strategy "was consistent with Apple's particular business interest." They quickly dropped their sham lawsuits when the courts agreed to transfer venue to Apple's backyard.

Needlessly to say, Moto's patents in the wrong hands would have been a devastating blow far more than $4B to Google's business.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#619

Post by m-p-3 »

taloft wrote: post #332
windexh8er wrote: post #63

Garmin 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…

My Garmin 935 is waterproof, has an always on display, shows smartphone notifications, charges once a week, and has worked for over a year. If apple or Fitbit had this, I’d go back. Had multiple fit bits and they all broke in 6 months. Had an Apple Watch, but it needed to be charged every day, wasn’t waterproof, and display turned off. Apple has improved on 2 of those but it still needs every day charging. I would pu…

Seriously, I know that these always-on displays don't look as nice as an LCD, but I value battery life more. If there were WearOS device that had this type of display to make them last longer than a day or two I'd consider it, mostly for Google Pay and the ability to use Spotify without my phone.

Re: Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B

#620

Post by gerash »

sah2ed wrote: post #437
cletus wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes and no. Sundar has no more vision than Larry does yet somehow is paid $200m+ a year and in my mind is the most unjustifiably overpaid CEO by a huge margin. At least Larry founded the company and contributed to turning into the behemoth it is. Sunday is a random associate product manager who somehow managed to ride the wave of Chrome to somehow becoming CEO.

> Sundar has no more vision than Larry does yet somehow is paid $200m+ a year and in my mind is the most unjustifiably overpaid CEO by a huge margin. Do you have a source for this? My understanding is that this $200m figure is a multi-year figure to keep him at Google. I wouldn’t characterize him as random though. Larry seemed to like him because he is able to handle conflict very well.

It is hard to accurately judge how the CEO is doing as most us are not privy to what he has to deal with in his job. That said, to me he seems uninspiring, dodging questions and without much background in Computers. In some ways arguably similar to Steve Ballmer.
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