“Research in Motion, Microsoft Corp., Nokia and the cable television business are emerging as potential winners after Google said it would buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion on Monday,” Alastair Sharp, Poornima Gupta, Nicola Leske, Yinka Adegoke, and Liana Baker report for Reuters. “If other handset manufacturers shy away from Google’s Android system, Nokia and RIM could stand to benefit.”
“Meanwhile, the deal is unlikely to have an impact on Apple’s quest for the hearts and minds of smartphone customers, analysts said. Now that Google is a direct competitor, Apple may drop some Google products in its devices,” the quintet reports. “Analysts said the deal does little to change the mobile landscape for Apple, given that Google has tried to enter the handset business through the launch of Nexus, which Taiwanese manufacturer HTC helped make. Consumers received the Nexus coolly, which did little to challenge Apple’s iPhone.”
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“‘Obviously Motorola knows a lot more about handsets than Google,’ said Gleacher & Co analyst Brian Marshall. ‘So I don’t see really what Google brings to the equation.’ The most obvious impact will be on the multiple patent infringement lawsuits that Apple has against Android handset makers around the world. But that too is unclear. Also, Apple was already suing Motorola Mobility for patent infringement,” the quintet reports. “One immediate response from Apple could be that it may drop some Google products, such as Maps or Search, from future versions of its iPhone and iPad.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Ellis D.” for the heads up.]
I’d say Nokia are breathing a huge sigh of relief that they didn’t go the Android route.
True, they’re probably still hosed thanks to hitching their wagon to Windows Phone ’07, but can you imagine how hard their stock would have been hammered today if they’d gone with Android?
From where I stand, this looks like an act of desperation on Google’s part. Instead of buying Motorola Mobile, Google should have considered a regimen of daily prayers to the technology gods for Apple’s downfall. That’s the only thing that would make Google truly competitive in the mobile device market. If they insist on going head-to-head with Apple, they will lose.
If they insist on going head-to-head with Apple, they will lose.
Lose they will, as they continue to pick up millions of new customers, peddling an inferior product that only has to be good enough to those who loathe Apple.
However, if a new cheaper version of the IP4 is free with a two year contract- imagine the fallout. No longer will the Android buyer that buy to get the phone for free, be only Android shoppers. Not all loathe Apple- just the PC fanboys.
“‘Obviously Motorola knows a lot more about handsets than Google,’ said Gleacher & Co analyst Brian Marshall. ‘So I don’t see really what Google brings to the equation.’”
umm, I think it brings 12,500,000,000 pieces of paper with portaits of Geo. Washington to the table. MotoMobility folks must own some stock that is going to be exchanged for those, at a premium price.
Google also brings deep pockets and thus a sense of stability and financial backing that Moto didn’t have before. There have been a lot of speculation about Moto’s ability to continue in the handset wars without it’s own OS, and this helps secure that (even as Android becomes less secure).
Google gets the patents (which really will only modestly help them) and Motorola gets access to Android code earlier than everyone else. It’s pretty much win-win for both of them. The question is HOW much of a win is it and was it worth $12.5 BILLION?
“One immediate response from Apple could be that it may drop some Google products, such as Maps or Search…”
How would Apple replace those? Bing? Yahoo? A new Apple maps app? Apple search?
Easy, they can do what I have been doing all along. Use Bing for Search, and use Mapsrus, or Mapquest for maps.
TADA!!!
Apple has been quietly buying up map companies for a few years, and working on something in secret. Maybe revealed soon.
I’d love to see an “Apple Maps”. Let’s hope it’d be more accurate (and more frequently updated) than Google Maps.
Bing! is now rated technically a better search engine if you have been following the recent news.
Apple already has a surprise in future maps without Google if you have been following the news.
I figure Apple is only waiting for the right time to drop the hammer on an advertising firm who now owns a phone manufacturer.
Apple could be run by a talking monkey and it would still be a successful against the doofuses that are its so-called competition.
First you have RIM basking in their past glory and thinking that the world will never change.
Then, you have HP and Palm who team up and take a year (forever in high tech time) to release an me-too iPad lookalike.
And don’t forget about Microsoft who makes HP look like a rabbit in terms of decision-making speed.
Now, Google loads the gun, puts it to their head, and shots themselves by spending $12.5B to buy a crappy cell phone maker and tell you partners to go F–K off at the same time.
The folks at Apple must be wondering how their competitors managed to hire all the stupid people in the world.
Anyone care to elucidate why Motorola Mobility is worth $12.5B?
Not sure how to answer that.
The pedestrian answer is that MMI had a capitalization value of [# of shares] * [share price], over which GOOG paid a 63% premium. It is as valuable as someone is willing to pay for it.
But if you’re asking if GOOG will realize that value or more, that’s harder to answer. Do all those patents shield it from $12.5B in damages, or a substantial fraction of it? Will GOOG now attempt to insert itself into litiagation of its downstream licensees and keep the Android ecosystem (or, GOOG search empire) open? Will GOOG seek to become a h/w player a la RIMM, NOK, AAPL and realize revenues to justify the price?
Hard to say. Speaking generally, most acquisitions are seen as value-destroying, not value-creating (can’t find the link showing that point that I had in mind — apologies…)
12.5~4.pi.
Desperation.
Google went the way of ultimate self-corruption. They required total control of the hardware and software (just like innovative Apple) but had NO means of creatively doing so. Therefore, they pulled a Microsoft and found out how to buy it. Motorola sniffed desperation in the air and jacked up the price beyond exorbitant. Desperation consistently leads to stooopid decisions. Therefore, desperate Google bought it, hook, line and sinker. ‘Reel her in!’ yelled crafty Motorola and the deal was done.
Note how Microsoft fell for the same screw job from the owners of Skype a month ago. Stooopid is infectious.
Power corrupts those desperate enough to pursue it at all cost$.
… and so it goes … 😆
I can’t wait for the Googorola phone BOGOF deals later this year. It’s a phone buyers market right now with all the super cheap obsolete androids and a mountain of WinMob7 specials available by the box load at every best buy and walmart.
It will be fun watching this expensive experiment go spiraling down the ” liquid circular file” a.k.a. The Toilet!
Let’s see …will RIM fail first or will it be Googarola?
This is testosterone fueled posturing.
THE WORLD: Losers.
The corruption of Google is now complete. WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE.
-Yours Truly,
Microsoft
One day soon Google is going to have a Coyote Arm moment. They are going to wake up one morning and realize they are lying next to That Ugly Bitch Motorola Mobile with it’s head on Goggle’s arm.
Chewing it’s arm off just to get rid of this Moto Mobile mess is going to seem like a good idea to Google in a few months.
google promised a $2.5 billion kill fee to moto if it decides to chew its own arm off.
Aahhh, AOL & PuffPost redux.
Google’s problem is: “Why did Motorola separate the Phone part from itself?”
Motorola post iPhone saw a loss in the phone market and got rid of poor performing assets.
What Google is getting is time — to re-orientate its Android OS and strategy — all the “do no evil” subterfuge has no truck with fact base patent violations that are the foundation of Google’s Empire.
There are also ‘fellow travelers’ who support Google right or wrong who add FUD to the patent lies. And say that the Patent laws are wrong — ‘we should be able to do what ever we want the patent holders that want our money are thieves we should get others work for free* ( well that’s what slavery is — Google wants slavery returned) So Google’s business plan — ‘steal everything or get it for free and sell it for advertisement placements’
Lincoln’s words are relevant here ” Fool some of the people….”
* so too the free music people ( the musicians are our slaves)
It is NEVER a good idea for a supplier like Google to go into competition with its own customers. Google supplies Android and will now be competing with all the other Android phone makers and sellers with its Google Motorola Android phones. Who will want to sell HTC Android, Sony Android, Samsung Android, or any other make Android phones when your primary OS supplier and developer is also your primary competitor? What possibility is there that Google Motorola will get the best Android version first to get a competitive edge? Can you trust that YOUR version is complete and not crippled in some unknown way?