Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

Motorola already has that with Motoblur.

>I don't see where you're coming from on b/c. Motorola makes great hardware - it would be hard to improve that.

That's exactly the problem. Google, as a software company, doesn't currently have to worry about a lot of the issues that the hardware side of Motorola does, like supply chain management(both on the production and disposal side), dealing with retail outlets, directly dealing with cellular service providers as a device manufacturer, governmental agency compliance for hardware, etc. Google doesn't have really any experience with this, which means they absolutely need to keep the people that are currently doing those jobs.

Also, from what I've heard from people that used to work there, Motorola's engineering culture is on the "very corporate" side of things. Integrating that into Google's rather loose culture will be difficult, I think. This is especially important because both sides will need to be working with each other very closely.

Best case, Google doesn't change much, and integrates Motorola's hardware chain well. However, if they do exert a lot of control over the hardware side, quality could decline in the short term as the issues I mentioned above get worked out.

Overall, I think it's a much stronger position for both companies. Motorola gets Google's software expertise, and Google gets Motorola's hardware engineering and supply chain.

>I would expect MS to maintain the BlackBerry brand, which I think still has some clout in the enterprise.

Does MS really need a brand with enterprise clout though? Doesn't the MS brand itself have enough enterprise clout?

I am quite confident that this deal does not bring much changes to Android and related companies, because even tough Google bought Motorola Mobility, their commitment to the other device manufacturers (Samsung, HTC, LG...) will be as strong as ever. It's Google's goal to reach as many people as possible with their Android operating system, so they can sell ads and be the default/dominant search engine on the mobile platform.

I would even argue that, after the acquisition, they are going to take extra good care of their relations with Samsung and HTC. Also I'm quite positive that the executives of the before mentioned firms, who've already both been sued by Microsoft and Apple, welcome the acquisition at least in the short term, as it strengthens Android's position in the patent lawsuits. We must not forget that it's Android that made HTC and Samsung great in the smartphone business.

Androids (Google's+Motorolas) success, is HTC's, LG's and Samsung's success.

So from my point of view, all the above mentioned companies depend on each other, which is why I don't expect any big strategic moves/changes in the next few months/year on either side.

Since you said this:

>Android is platform neutral in a way no other can aspire to: it's open-source.

I was comparing that to other platforms, both desktop and mobile (the difference is largely irrelevant to the argument, isn't it?).

With Android, the openness is exploited by the OEMs and carriers to install applications and always running services that CANNOT be uninstalled by the user, unless you root it(not easy for average user, and tough for even geeks because of locked bootloaders). These services and apps take up space and suck down battery. With Apple, you don't get such unremovable crap. With Windows 7, you can somehow uninstall it using tweaks and workarounds. With WP7, nothing can run in the background, and OEMs/carriers get a bigger tile on the main screen that can be removed with a long press and even uninstalled. How is the openness of Android helping here?

OEMs HAVE to abide by certain rules to get access to premium Google programs like Maps and to the Android Marketplace(try selling a phone without those).

So you say the openness of Android was used to customize the UI? Most people hate the UI customization since it further lags the phone and sucks down battery.

>And Windows OEMs can't change Windows itself - they can only slap things on top of it

True, but you can install things into the kernel itself and Dell ships a OS X like dock.

Do you have any examples of Android customisations that the OEMs made as a result of it being Open Source that improved the user experience that wouldn't be possible with, say desktop Windows?