Lenovo to buy Google's Motorola handset division • Hacker News Board

Re: Lenovo to buy Google's Motorola handset division

#131

Post by georgemcbay » Wed, Jan 29, 2014, 10:44 PM UTC

yetfeo wrote: post #127

pbreit wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Much cheaper, doesn't need to plug into wall, more and more open viewing options. Question should probably be reversed (says this Apple fanatic).

It still needs power though so it needs to be plugged into something - whether USB or wall socket. What are the open viewing options? It seems to only provide youtube and google movies in countries that don't have netflix. Does it support streaming a local video from a phone or PC?

HDMI (v1.4) alone is capable of providing power to the Chromecast, pin 18 is specced for +5V/50ma.

Not every TV/monitor supports this since there aren't that many devices out in the field that utilize HDMI power, but if your TV does provide power over the HDMI port then the Chromecast can get everything it needs just from the HDMI port.

Re: Lenovo to buy Google's Motorola handset division

#132

Post by shitlord » Wed, Jan 29, 2014, 10:47 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #94

Unfortunate. I was sitting waiting for a Moto X successor to see if I could get a phone designed in the U.S./assembled in the U.S.

Yup, same here. Either that or a Moto Nexus. I really like the way their newest phones look.

Re: Lenovo to buy Google's Motorola handset division

#133

Post by twistedpair » Wed, Jan 29, 2014, 10:48 PM UTC

ChikkaChiChi wrote: post #48

I wonder if this has anything to do with Apple's focus on the Chinese market. Google could effectively hand off a tightly wound partnership to an established Chinese company in Lenovo that can then leverage Android more effectively in a head to head battle with Apple. In the interim, Google keeps its hands clean and doesn't enter into the discussions that plague any sort of success in the Chinese marketplace.

Good point. The Chinese market is all about political approval and you're expected to bend over backwards for them. But then again... Google has pretty much burned that bridge pulling out of China.

Re: Lenovo to buy Google's Motorola handset division

#134

Post by skizm » Wed, Jan 29, 2014, 10:49 PM UTC

Better article: http://investor.google.com/releases/2014/0129.html

Assuming that google keeps the majority of/important patents then they basically bought the patents for $4.74 billion. They sold the "set top" division for $2.35 billion and now they're selling the mobility division for $2.91 billion. They also kept about $3 billion in cash that Motorolla was holding when they bought them for $13 billion.

That's not even counting whatever tax incentives they get from these deals. So all in all, it isn't as bad of a deal as it looks like on the surface (in fact I assume it is what Google was planning from the beginning).

Re: Lenovo to buy Google's Motorola handset division

#135

Post by taopao » Wed, Jan 29, 2014, 10:59 PM UTC

yetfeo wrote: post #100

adventured wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two things. Price, and no lock-in to Apple's ecosystem.

Aren't you instead locked into Google's ecosystem?

No, first party service support is better of course, but there are quite a few third party services that are cast-friendly.

Re: Lenovo to buy Google's Motorola handset division

#136

Post by dragonwriter » Wed, Jan 29, 2014, 10:59 PM UTC

mediaman wrote: post #7

Huge announcement if true, and if this accounts for the entirety of the Motorola purchase that Google made. That means that in less than two years, Google shredded 85% of the $13bn paid for Motorola. At the time, the high price paid was excused for the patents, because the business itself did not generate nearly enough earnings to justify the price. Now, if it is true that the patents are part of the deal (the articl…

> Now, if it is true that the patents are part of the deal (the article states they are)

The patents aren't being sold as part of the deal -- it's officially announced, and Google keeps the patents (or, at least, "the vast majority of" them) but Lenovo gets a license to them. [1]

[1] http://motorola-blog.blogspot.com/2014/01/motorola-to-join-l...: "Google will maintain ownership of the vast majority of the Motorola Mobility patent portfolio, including current patent applications and invention disclosures. As part of its ongoing relationship with Google, Lenovo will receive a license to this rich portfolio of patents and other intellectual property. Additionally Lenovo will receive over 2,000 patent assets, as well as the Motorola Mobility brand and trademark portfolio."

Re: Lenovo to buy Google's Motorola handset division

#137

Post by harrychenca » Wed, Jan 29, 2014, 11:01 PM UTC

absherwin wrote: post #68

mediaman wrote: post #7

Huge announcement if true, and if this accounts for the entirety of the Motorola purchase that Google made. That means that in less than two years, Google shredded 85% of the $13bn paid for Motorola. At the time, the high price paid was excused for the patents, because the business itself did not generate nearly enough earnings to justify the price. Now, if it is true that the patents are part of the deal (the articl…

They shredded closer to a sixth of the initial price less whatever IP benefit they received. Motorola had ~$3B in cash when acquired. Google previously sold their set-top box unit for $2.35B and realized about $1.7B in tax benefits from previous losses. However since acquiring it has taken $1.038B in losses, which is $0.67B post-tax. There will be another write down for the lost goodwill less the value of the remaini…

I want to know how long it took you to gather all the figures? and Where you collect them? I am currently working on a platform that help people become better investors. I found your analysis amazingly informative and concise! Thanks!

Re: Lenovo to buy Google's Motorola handset division

#138

Post by dragonwriter » Wed, Jan 29, 2014, 11:03 PM UTC

piyush_soni wrote: post #115

mediaman wrote: post #7

Huge announcement if true, and if this accounts for the entirety of the Motorola purchase that Google made. That means that in less than two years, Google shredded 85% of the $13bn paid for Motorola. At the time, the high price paid was excused for the patents, because the business itself did not generate nearly enough earnings to justify the price. Now, if it is true that the patents are part of the deal (the articl…

Seems surprising that they have to sell the whole Motorola division for less than they bought this little company Nest for.

> Seems surprising that they have to sell the whole Motorola division for less than they bought this little company Nest for.

At the time of the Motorola acquisition, it was widely portrayed that they were buying the patent portfolio and that the rest of Motorola was largely dead weight that came along with the patent portfolio. Since they are keeping the patents (but giving Lenovo a license to them), it doesn't seem like that bad of a deal.

Re: Lenovo to buy Google's Motorola handset division

#139

Post by benihana » Wed, Jan 29, 2014, 11:03 PM UTC

adventured wrote: post #83

lotso wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's also a big statement on Google's ability to succeed in the hardware market, where they've never seemed to be able to gain real success despite their attempts with notebooks and phones. And Google TV. Let's not forget that huge failure. "By the summer of 2012, the majority of the televisions you see in stores will have Google TV embedded in it." -Eric Schmidt

Instead, by the Summer of 2016, the majority of living rooms will be using Chromecast or something similar running Android. Android will acquire a monopoly share in smart TV, exactly like it did in smart phones and tablets. In fact, the game is already over, the competition just doesn't realize it yet.

>Android will acquire a monopoly share in smart TV, exactly like it did in smart phones and tablets.

what.

Re: Lenovo to buy Google's Motorola handset division

#140

Post by dragonwriter » Wed, Jan 29, 2014, 11:06 PM UTC

palebluedot wrote: post #105

Google just confirmed it, and explained some of their reasoning: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/lenovo-to-acquire-mot... I'm inexplicably bummed about this. I was excited to see what Google would do long term with Motorola, and I thought the Moto X and Moto G was a great start. I thought eventually, a Google+Motorola powerhouse could provide a nice yin to Apple's yang.

> I'm inexplicably bummed about this. I was excited to see what Google would do long term with Motorola, and I thought the Moto X and Moto G was a great start.

I think Google is a lot more interested in pointing hardware companies in the right direction and then supplying software and online services than in being a hardware company.

Particularly, Google isn't interested in weakening relationships with its hardware partners in, e.g., the OHA being a long-term strategic competitor with them.