Breaking News: Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility, Enabling Android to "Break New Ground"

Yeah this is a big deal. There's one analyst out there speculating that Google will have a closed Android based eco-system, a la Apple, in 2-3 years time. Which means there's a need in the market for a new, true Open Source Mobile platform. It also shows that Google is serious about not being a one trick pony.

The question is, will the acquisition take so many resources that it will bog the company down? I don't see Google laying off employees left and right (at least not yet), and sadly, that's the best way to make an acquisition of this scope work.

Well you gotta break ground when you want to get something out of a grave.

With the rumors floating around that Google is very interested in Steve Perlman's DIDO system and it's own well publicized broadband initiatives (albeit small as they may be right now) I just have to wonder if this acquisition is a sign that Google is working on something really big.  They have the OS (Android) and they now have a hardware and design asset (Moto Mobility) that not only is in handsets but broadband tv and video via it's home business unit.  The only thing they're really missing at this point is a major Telecomm asset but the success of Google Voice has kind of made that a moot point.  I just don't buy the "we're buying this for patent protection" smokescreen.

What I'm thinking is that Google (and this may be 10-15 years down the road) is going to create it's own  ultra high speed broadband infrastructure compatible only with Android powered devices (tablet, mobile, tv, computer..hell maybe even your vehicle) that will handle all voice and data needs via the net.  Which is why I think in the end Apple is going to lose this "war" the media's helped create and fanboys seem to love to sign up to serve in the trenches. Not because IOS doesn't do a great job (it does) or that Jobs and Co. aren't innovative or stylish (they may be kind of prickish now but they do have some cool consumer products) but at the end of the day they're still going to be just a consumer electronics company at the mercy of ISP's and Telecom's to provide service and infrastructure for their products.

That's a really intriguing idea. Google did try to create and run free Wifi networks in a couple of major cities like San Francisco and Seattle. SF's city government in its' infinite wisdom shot down the idea, thinking they could do it themselves! (no idea what happened or didn't with Seattle). So there is precedent.

The problem Google faces is they are about to acquire tens of thousands of employees who are not part of the "Google Ethos". Googlers are notorious for worshiping IQs, and where you went to college (hint: Stanford and Harvard). Plus they have a culture that encourages innovation and taking chances, all antithetical to Motorola. And Google has no history of massive layoffs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAIRUS 

Well you gotta break ground when you want to get something out of a grave.

I'm assuming you mean the shitty state of Motorola and their product line-up and not some jab at Android, yes?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bancroft Agee 

With the rumors floating around that Google is very interested in Steve Perlman's DIDO system and it's own well publicized broadband initiatives (albeit small as they may be right now) I just have to wonder if this acquisition is a sign that Google is working on something really big.  They have the OS (Android) and they now have a hardware and design asset (Moto Mobility) that not only is in handsets but broadband tv and video via it's home business unit.  The only thing they're really missing at this point is a major Telecomm asset but the success of Google Voice has kind of made that a moot point.  I just don't buy the "we're buying this for patent protection" smokescreen.

 

What I'm thinking is that Google (and this may be 10-15 years down the road) is going to create it's own  ultra high speed broadband infrastructure compatible only with Android powered devices (tablet, mobile, tv, computer..hell maybe even your vehicle) that will handle all voice and data needs via the net.  Which is why I think in the end Apple is going to lose this "war" the media's helped create and fanboys seem to love to sign up to serve in the trenches. Not because IOS doesn't do a great job (it does) or that Jobs and Co. aren't innovative or stylish (they may be kind of prickish now but they do have some cool consumer products) but at the end of the day they're still going to be just a consumer electronics company at the mercy of ISP's and Telecom's to provide service and infrastructure for their products.

I seriously doubt it.  The patent protection "smokescreen" is only hiding one thing and that is Google's interest in the set-top division so they can hopefully get Google TV correct the second time around.

They got shot in the foot with the Nexus sales platform and even a decade from now I highly doubt they will move into the carrier market with an Android only infrastructure.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by TzuDohNihm 

 

I seriously doubt it.  The patent protection "smokescreen" is only hiding one thing and that is Google's interest in the set-top division so they can hopefully get Google TV correct the second time around.

 

They got shot in the foot with the Nexus sales platform and even a decade from now I highly doubt they will move into the carrier market with an Android only infrastructure.
 

 

The Nexus sales platform was an experiment (like a lot of thing that Google does) and it failed mainly because of shitty customer sales and support staffing..and I think that was really the purpose behind it to begin with; to see how it worked and if they could make it work without the traditional service and sales infrastructure that consumer electronic companies rely on.  And I'm willing to wager that if anything gets spun off from the Moto Mobility acquisition it's the Home division.

Google bid on the spectrum that Verizon ended up acquiring. They've done/are doing a couple of small scale ventures in high speed broadband (which I'm willing to bet are another one of their "experiments") and they've bought up fiber assets left and right over the last 5 years.  It just fits that they're building to something larger.