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Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

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Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#231

Post by com »

ericd wrote: post #212
podperson wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

It's not just almost eerie. It really is, and makes me think of zombies walking. PR zombies.

Seriously, though, I imagine that there are pretty intense discussions taking place within a number of handset manufacturers right now about how to manage their risk:

* treat (but how? it's a Gulliver situation even for someone like Samsung)

* transfer (almost impossible to transfer the risks in this situation unless you join the MS camp)

* accept (and have your shareholders crucify you if you made the wrong call)

A very brave move from Google (in the Yes, Minister sense)

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#232

Post by ktsmith »

rbanffy wrote: post #208
kinofcain wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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.

Everyone is referring to the ice cream sandwich specific code which is not currently available.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#235

Post by cperciva »

ericd wrote: post #212
podperson wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

You don't actually think the CEOs said those things, do you? Google's PR people would have written to them saying "can we quote you as saying X?", and they would have written back saying either "sure, that sounds fine" or "no, use this quote instead: ...".

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#236

Post by enjo »

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…

How is Google leading that charge exactly? From what I can tell they've been drug kicking and screaming into this mess. It simply says that they have to come up with a way to defend against the patent mess that the Apple consortium has threatened them with.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#238

Post by tspiteri »

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.

I think that Google's interpretation of "Don't be evil" is consistent with money making. They do it because they believe that in the long run, they will be more valuable if they are not "evil". Doing what is morally objectionable may lead to short term gains, but has a high maintenance cost. Not being evil is like having a clean sustainable system design; there is no need for kludges to hide the bad parts.

Re: Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

#239

Post by jsz0 »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #185
51Cards wrote: post #170

One further thought on the patent portfolio. Don't forget that Motorola is widely considered to have "invented" the first practical cell phone. Their patent portfolio isn't just going to be stuff like "Using shades of gray in a UI". It's going to run deep into what constitutes a mobile device.

Those patents would have been issued in the 70s and long since expired. Even the first generation digital cell phone patents should be mostly expired. I'm not sure how involved Motorola was in the consortiums that developed the 2G/3G/4G standards, but my impression was that they were dominated by the chipset vendors (Qualcomm etc) and the telecom guys (Nortel etc). Of course, there were competing standards, and who p…

You're probably right. Motorola's own phones do not use a Motorola designed radio and haven't for many years.
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