“In a recent conference call with investors, Apple’s chief financial officer was unsurprisingly tight-lipped, but did admit he thinks Google spent ‘a lot of money’ to acquire Motorola,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider.
“Peter Oppenheimer took part this week in a conference call hosted by investment firm Gleacher & Company,” Hughes reports. “When asked about Google’s announcement on Monday that it would acquire Motorola, the Apple senior vice president reportedly commented on the sale price by saying: ‘$12.5 billion is a lot of money.'”
Hughes reports, “When asked about the Google-Motorola combination during this week’s conference call, Oppenheimer said Apple strongly believes in competition, but that companies must invent their own technology rather than take the ideas of others. He said customers should be allowed to choose what is the superior product on the open market. The CFO also reiterated the company’s stance that Apple will “vigorously” defend its intellectual property as necessary. In keeping with that strategy, Apple is currently involved in patent infringement suits with a number of major companies, including HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and Kodak.”
Read more in the full article here.
They spent a lot of money to buy those patents…
…and ended up with 20,000 mouths to feed at a new profitless division of Google.
With all due respect to Peter Oppenheimer, there is but one obvious answer to this ad nauseam question.
So, 12.5 billion is cheaper than “growing patent litigation”?
I like Oppenheimer’s and Apple’s usual comments. They are simple, are factual, and make logical sense.
However, it seems to make sense only to Apple while other companies are acting like spoiled children who hear but don’t listen. They cry when they can’t have something and they lie when they make a mistake. They don’t owe up to their responsibilities and instead invent excuses or myths.
Sure, because Apple is in the enviable position of actually being an innovative company.
Google has innovated, and patented its work (such as PageRank). You won’t find Google calling for the end of software patents anytime soon, it’s their biggest, if only, money maker.
You know, I’m really starting to think that Google hasn’t had a plan beyond noticing that mobile is the future, realizing they needed to be able to sell ads on mobile devices, then basically taking whatever IP they needed to build android.
They seem genuinely surprised that anyone is pissed.
And they could have sold ads on iPads and iPhones. The fear is that people stop searching and googling. Steve got up on stage and declared people were searching for apps, not webpages.. which kind of lends credibility to Google’s fears. If you believe that, you believe Google needed to have its own mobile OS.
But then again, a billion dollars isn’t worth what it used to be now is it?
And a million certainly isn’t. Some 50 years ago, there was a popular TV drama called “The Millionaire” involving a mysterious philanthropist who would pick some individual, for whatever reason, and give them one million dollars tax free. That was a lot of money back then. Heck in the 1960s one could buy a Rolls Royce for $20,000; today that barely buys one a Corolla. And a million won’t cover the cost of the President’s vacation on Martha’s Vineyard.
If you’re in the mood to give away a paltry million, I’m certainly in the mood to accept it. 🙂
John Bears Fertipton.
Actually, John Bearsford Tipton.
Actually, John Beresford Tipton.
Google makes about $1 billion a year off Android.
so 12.5b is 12 Years Android earnings.
(Moto Mobility lost 56 m last quarter)
Apple makes 50 b plus a year off mobile.
Paid 2.6 b for Nortel share or around 5% of one years mobile earnings.
“A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” – Senator Everett Dirksen
Purchase price of a wireless phone company that has consistently seen fall in market share and decline in profits=12 billion dollars.
Purchase price of useless and irrelevant patents (mostly F/RAND) that has not stopped MS and Apple from suing them=12 billion dollars.
Cost of creating enmity from your trusted allies=12 billion dollars.
The spectacle of business buffoonery set in motion=priceless.
The
Motorola Shareholder grins are undeniable!
Aaawww man, that’s beautiful!
So let’s make sure we’re on the same playing field here… Yup, $ 12.5 BILLION is a lot of money… BUT.. IF you want to put that in perspective in terms of Apple, reports say that they just up’d their order for iPhone’s for the rest of the year to 56 MILLION units… Let’s say if the BOM “cost ” of the iPhone is $325, then the value of that order alone is over $ 18 BILLION… so everything is relative….