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Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

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Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#51

Post by tpatke »

ErrantX wrote: post #3

Only part of Motorola, and not generally the part considered the "original". :) Motorola mobility was spun off of the main company in January - I think at the time there was commentary on the stock markets that it was done with the aim to get someone to buy it. So Motorola will exist still - as Motorola Solutions (it is the bigger & more profitable part of the company anyway) and Google get a phone manufacture divisi…

I wonder how many patents were transferred to the new company. Motorola certainly has a lot and MSFT and Apple have been overpaying lately...

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#52

Post by [deleted] »

kylec wrote: post #30

Interestingly, this means the only manufacturer-neutral smartphone OS is now Windows Phone 7. iOS is on Apple, Android is on Motorola/Google, Blackberry on RIM, and webOS on HP/Palm. I wonder if this means we'll see an increase in WP7-based phones from HTC, Samsung, and LG...

[deleted]

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#53

Post by Jabbles »

tpatke wrote: post #51
ErrantX wrote: post #3

Only part of Motorola, and not generally the part considered the "original". :) Motorola mobility was spun off of the main company in January - I think at the time there was commentary on the stock markets that it was done with the aim to get someone to buy it. So Motorola will exist still - as Motorola Solutions (it is the bigger & more profitable part of the company anyway) and Google get a phone manufacture divisi…

I wonder how many patents were transferred to the new company. Motorola certainly has a lot and MSFT and Apple have been overpaying lately...

http://mediacenter.motorola.com/Press-Releases/Motorola-Mobi...

http://www.unwiredview.com/2011/08/01/did-motorola-just-hint...

~24,500 (~17000 Granted and ~7000 Pending)

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#55

Post by Tichy »

drink wrote: post #23

This is the beginning of the end for Android as an open platform. Google will have a financial incentive to release the best phones as Motorola devices. I would not want to be HTC today. I like how Larry Page talks about IP in the blog post. After all of that talk about how patents were overpriced, Google comes out and spends more money than anyone on acquiring what is basically a terrible handset maker with a large…

I don't think Google is interested in making profits with hardware sales. It is still about getting Google search into as many hands as possible (and collecting lots of data).

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#56

Post by mwill »

The headline threw me at first, then I started thinking about how closely they worked with them on the Xoom, iirc they Honeycomb guys were testing and working on the Xoom exclusively (From the Google I/O keynote I think)

I wonder if we'll see more open (i.e. easily rootable, well documented etc) handsets coming from this deal. Not entirely sure but I think the Nexus One was the last really transparent HTC Android device...

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#57

Post by fbnt »

iaskwhy wrote: post #38
fbnt wrote: post #33

By the look of motorola solutions website, there's nothing that links the newly acquired company, at least directly, to the mobile phone hardware market. From Wikipedia: Motorola Solution Corporate structure The company is structured into two divisions: Enterprise: Comprises communications offered to government enterprise mobility business. Motorola develops advanced data capture, wireless infrastructure, bar code sc…

It was Motorola Mobility, not Motorola Solutions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Mobility

Thanks. Clearly, I'm still sleeping.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#58

Post by RexRollman »

kylec wrote: post #30

Interestingly, this means the only manufacturer-neutral smartphone OS is now Windows Phone 7. iOS is on Apple, Android is on Motorola/Google, Blackberry on RIM, and webOS on HP/Palm. I wonder if this means we'll see an increase in WP7-based phones from HTC, Samsung, and LG...

I hadn't really thought about it but your are right. This development gives the rise to the possibility of a "real" Google Phone.

If nothing else, this might mean it will be easier to root Motorola phones in the future, as Google seems to see rootability as a feature.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#59

Post by nknight »

latch wrote: post #4

63% premium...insanity. This is all about patents, isn't it? Instead of spending $4billion for patents, spend 3x as much, get a huge portfolio (I don't know how large, but it's supposedly quite large)..and a part of a company as well.

Patents are a big part sure, but it's more generically about strengthening Android's position overall -- partly in the legal system through patents, and partly in the market through Google having direct control of a major cell phone manufacturer with direct lines to the providers.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#60

Post by listic »

starwed wrote: post #28
martingordon wrote: post #18

So now Google has blessed a hardware manufacturer as the official Android manufacturer, and despite Google's insistence that Android is open, I don't think we've seen the Honeycomb source code yet. How long until Google no longer offers the Android source at all? Samsung, HTC and the others are probably not very happy about this and will likely move them to start pushing their Windows Phone 7 handsets a bit harder th…

> despite Google's insistence that Android is open, I don't think we've seen the Honeycomb source code yet The word "yet" is mildly disingenuous. No one is waiting for them to do that -- google said a while ago that it wouldn't happen, but that they would release the source to Ice Cream Sandwich.

How can Google get away with not publishing GPL-derivative code from the legal point of view?
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