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Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

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Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#201

Post by antrix »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #80

What's the worst case scenario vis-a-vis Android openness and competitiveness? Google can't take back the code it's already released other than the non-open source apps like Google Mail. But it can stop releasing new code. HTC et al are making too much money from Android, I doubt they'd stop investing in the platform, resulting in slow platform divergence a la Unix in the 80s and 90s. 3.2 hasn't been fully released t…

> The first litmus test will be the release of Honeycomb.

You mean Ice Cream Sandwich? Google has made it clear that they won't be making a Honeycomb source drop. Instead, ICS would contain the 'converged' codebase from their phone (Gingerbread) and tablet (Honeycomb) trees.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#202

Post by 51Cards »

rmrm wrote: post #196
SoftwareMaven wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"My son is going to have to bid to get the contract to build the new city building, just like anybody else. He will be on equal footing." I won't believe it until I see a regular pattern of Moto not getting picked. That goes against too much human nature.

the Nexus device gets a lot of press as its the first out of the gate with the new build, but realistically, even if that remains as they say it doesn't seem like it would matter much if Google does the rest of it right -- meaning stock Android, and Google updating the SW quickly and over decent time interval. It seems most likely to me that the Nexus program will remain in place, but Motorola will have multiple "Nex…

I too would like to see a whole line of Nexus devices. Pure Android with instant updates from all the manufacturers.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#203

Post by recoiledsnake »

rbanffy wrote: post #137
kylec wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, but it's not as though Microsoft bought Nokia. As crazy as that sounds, though, that would have been less crazy than Google's buying Motorola and how now they've suddenly become a mass-market hardware manufacturer. I really fear that things that Google has historically been bad at (support, etc) will come back to bite them hard.

> True, but it's not as though Microsoft bought Nokia. At least not yet. But it seems Elop is doing his best to make it easy. Or, at least, cheap.

How so? I see this bandied about as truth, especially by Linux fans and the anti-MS folk, but he was given charge of a sinking ship and is trying to do the best for the company.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_24/b42320567...

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#204

Post by bad_user »

ristretto wrote: post #176
51Cards wrote: post #166

If there is one company I trust to not screw this up it's Google and I think they have a good shot at getting this right. I'm sure their partner companies are going to be a bit ansy to start but they all compete on hardware / price anyhow which this doesn't change. A few points that pop to mind: A. They already had to compete with Motorola, so they haven't lost or gained a new competitor. B. They don't pay for Androi…

A) But they didnt have to compete with Google so they have a new competitor B) There is a lot at stake here, a good solution would be to donate android to an independent "Android foundation" D) Still, google's phones will always be one step ahead with technologies that are hard to compete, like voice recognition, navigation and search. In any case this could be a phenomenal move, and may even be a big boost for andro…

B) a foundation would be either a total facade for the current status quo (i.e. Google controlling everything Android), like the JCP is, or would be a really bad idea -- after all, if these phone makers could have created a good smartphone platform, they wouldn't have needed Android in the first place

D) not necessarily; currently Google's partners have access to the latest Android developments before the public release. And I don't think stuff like voice recognition, navigation and search requires special hardware, otherwise all the software and apps do get released.

I actually think that Android phone-makers will be happy, because it is not in Google's interests to fuck up the Android ecosystem just so they can sell their own phones. They are not and never will be like Apple, they will never enjoy the huge profit margins that Apple does -- it is in their best interests however for Google's apps to be the default on all mobiles.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#205

Post by rbanffy »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #193
rbanffy wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Android is platform neutral in a way no other can aspire to: it's open-source. What Google did was to gain access to Motorola Mobility's patent portfolio in order to defend HTC and Samsung from Apple and Microsoft. Google will own the company, but it will not become Google Mobility - it'll continue to exist as a separate entity. They will probably manufacture the reference implementations. In order to reassure other…

>Android is platform neutral in a way no other can aspire to: it's open-source. In practice, is the platform that much different from Windows? Anyone can slap it on any hardware and sell it as Windows and pre-install their own software. In fact, with Windows they don't have to follow the rules OEMs need to follow to bundle things like Maps and Android Marketplace with the phone.

> In practice, is the platform that much different from Windows?

Sure. OEMs get the full source code.

> Anyone can slap it on any hardware and sell it as Windows and pre-install their own software.

As long as they pay the license. Android OEMs don't have to. And Windows OEMs can't change Windows itself - they can only slap things on top of it.

AFAIK, the only OEM that got permission to customize WP7's interface is Nokia. And we are talking mobile OSs, not desktop ones, BTW.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#206

Post by intended »

dlikhten wrote: post #178
51Cards wrote: post #166

If there is one company I trust to not screw this up it's Google and I think they have a good shot at getting this right. I'm sure their partner companies are going to be a bit ansy to start but they all compete on hardware / price anyhow which this doesn't change. A few points that pop to mind: A. They already had to compete with Motorola, so they haven't lost or gained a new competitor. B. They don't pay for Androi…

To add: a) there will be at least 1 company focused on android which will be protected with the cloth that is Google's legal team. b) Google can make Motorola better c) Google can make hardware to go with their software. d) Google can finally make Motorola phones running android open. e) We can finally see what it means for a hardware company to exist with a motto: "Don't be Evil". Sure Google is not perfect, but all…

GOOG is a s/w company and not a manufacturer. The ability to integrate both sides of such different firms is very difficult. This puts both points b), c) and e) off the table.

Point f)? I'm not sure, but I really hope that they can do something while looking at exactly how it will play out on a phone. They did try this with the Nexus though, and that was not something which worked out perfectly imho.

M&A's have a tendency to be non-accretive to the purchaser. This looks like its going to be similar for Google.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#207

Post by rbanffy »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #203
rbanffy wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> True, but it's not as though Microsoft bought Nokia. At least not yet. But it seems Elop is doing his best to make it easy. Or, at least, cheap.

How so? I see this bandied about as truth, especially by Linux fans and the anti-MS folk, but he was given charge of a sinking ship and is trying to do the best for the company. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_24/b42320567...

> trying to do the best for the company.

By adopting the mobile OS nobody wants? By burying the one that was actually good (and whose kernel could power an Android device easily)?

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#208

Post by rbanffy »

kinofcain wrote: post #183
rbanffy wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also, "open" in name only. "open" as in: $ repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git

"open" would be if that actually got me the latest code.

I may be mistaken, but I believe (and you can check if you want) the last commit on that tree happened 40 hours ago.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#210

Post by vondur »

Wow, Google is pulling a Microsoft by entering into competition with its former partners. I can't believe that LG or Samsung are going to be excited about this. I guess that is the price you pay when you don't have control of the software.
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