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Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

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Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#211

Post by zacharypinter »

hammock wrote: post #127
sunchild wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many patent lawyers are engineers.

Most of them come from an engineering background (at least education), you're right. It's fascinating to me to see this shift, which Google seems to be leading, from tech companies fighting over new product development - and spending gobs of cash on it - to something entirely different: fighting over patents (and again, spending gobs of cash on it). Where a company spends its cash is a good measure of where its prior…

That's what I find interesting about this deal. It's still motivated by patent protection, but instead of putting it all in a defensive patent portfolio, they get a hardware company to innovate with as well.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#212

Post by ericd »

podperson wrote: post #198
dlikhten wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I hope you're right. But Google has certainly sold it to its Android partners as "we're going to use their patents to defend your crapware-ridden half-assed locked down handsets and then smother the hardware people with this wet pillow": http://www.google.com/press/motorola/quotes/

Wow, those quotes all sound the same... it's almost eerie.

We welcome today’s news, which demonstrates Google’s deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem.

We welcome the news of today‘s acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem.

I welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.

We welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.

Those quotes are from the heads of 4 major companies...

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#213

Post by runjake »

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…

Sure Google is not perfect, but all other companies have the motto: "Money first, morals second."

You're kidding, right? By law, this is the modus operandi of any publicly-traded company. If you think any different, you've simply fallen for their rhetoric.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#214

Post by lallysingh »

runjake wrote: post #213
dlikhten wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Sure Google is not perfect, but all other companies have the motto: "Money first, morals second." You're kidding, right? By law, this is the modus operandi of any publicly-traded company. If you think any different, you've simply fallen for their rhetoric.

Not when the founders are major stockholders. They won't sue themselves.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#215

Post by binarycheese »

intended wrote: post #206
dlikhten wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ten…

Google Appliance

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#216

Post by joebadmo »

To make a broad point without going into details about patent quality:

Nortel: $4.5B / 6,000 patents = $750k per patent.

Motorola: $12.5B / 14,300 patents = $856,164.38 per patent.

Plus 6,700 patents pending.

Plus a hardware company.

There are obviously a lot of other factors, but it seems like a pretty good deal, and maybe a smarter way for Google to go about acquiring patents without having to deal with bidding wars with consortia of their competitors.

Either way, it seems the lawyers are winning. Everywhere.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#217

Post by lallysingh »

benfwirtz wrote: post #128

Google shares already lost 4% on the Frankfurt Stock exchange ( http://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/EN/index.aspx?pageID=35&I... ), and Google didn't answer any questions on how they came up with this extraordinary price. I don't think $12.5bn is justifiable...

In terms of what they'll add to Android (patent protection for partners, stronger steering of hardware & user experience), it'll pay for itself pretty quickly.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#218

Post by lukeschlather »

intended wrote: post #206
dlikhten wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ten…

>This puts both points b), c) and e) off the table.

I don't see where you're coming from on b/c. Motorola makes great hardware - it would be hard to improve that. What Google can do is provide phones with unlocked bootloaders and the standard "Android Experience" UI. Google can make Motorola better precisely because they are a software company, and they can use that core competency to let Motorola focus on what they do best. (At the moment, Motorola shoots themselves in the foot by writing so much software.)

On e, yes, I think the hardware division will have to stay divided from Google.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#219

Post by mbreese »

binarycheese wrote: post #215
intended wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ten…

Google Appliance

I thought they farmed that out to Dell to build. Motorola is a slightly bigger operation. (I know Foxconn will probably ends up doing the assembly anyway, but they'll still have to design the products)

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#220

Post by mbreese »

lallysingh wrote: post #214
runjake wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure Google is not perfect, but all other companies have the motto: "Money first, morals second." You're kidding, right? By law, this is the modus operandi of any publicly-traded company. If you think any different, you've simply fallen for their rhetoric.

Not when the founders are major stockholders. They won't sue themselves.

They still have a feduciary responsibility to the minority stock holders.
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