“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.]