Google announces plans to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5B

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  • Reply 61 of 236
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by juandl View Post


    Google probably did buy Moto for their patents.

    But this surely will not hold up Apple one bit. If the patents were being infringed Motorola is trying hard to stick it to Apple in the courts now.

    Maybe Google has better Lawyers.

    More than anything. Once the Samsungs and HTC's start jumping ship to Microsoft, this will give Google one company that is their very own.

    All in all, the biggest losers will be Google. That is one big chunk of change.



    Since MS already made a preferred strategic alliance with Nokia, I don't know they would find them any more appealing than Android. And the MS devices they already offer haven't been big market successes. As long as Google reassures their existing partners that there will be no preferential treatment for Moto, then this should be seen as a huge plus by the Handset Alliance partners IMHO.
  • Reply 62 of 236
    stelligentstelligent Posts: 2,680member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cloudgazer View Post


    Yes, and listening to the conference call so far nobody is making any concrete claim on how this merger will improve Moto's ability to deliver phones. This merger is all about patents, and Google doesn't really seem to have thought very much about what it will do with the Moto business itself.



    I don't know if that's completely true. It must have entered Page's mind that being a software pure play has its drawbacks. Perhaps this is in part an answer to Microsoft/Nokia as well. But I have to say I don't feel strongly about that speculation.
  • Reply 63 of 236
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cloudgazer View Post


    Yes, and listening to the conference call so far nobody is making any concrete claim on how this merger will improve Moto's ability to deliver phones. This merger is all about patents, and Google doesn't really seem to have thought very much about what it will do with the Moto business itself.



    Google has no interest in the hardware. This is why they are clear that moto will be run as a separate entity. Of course the patents will be transferred to google en masse. I don't think goog will even care if moto runs themselves out of business or maybe they will sell the corpse, sans patents, to an interested partner for the manufacturing and engineering experience that google has no interest in.
  • Reply 64 of 236
    noirdesirnoirdesir Posts: 1,027member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tawilson View Post


    It's only popular because it's used a lot



    And I guess a politician is only popular because he/she gets a lot of votes.



    Manufacturers can push what they want, there is only so much they can do, if the stuff does not sell no reseller will keep it forever. Resellers, ie, MSPs have much more power to push as it is their salespeople who actually close the deal with the end customer.
  • Reply 65 of 236
    djmikeodjmikeo Posts: 180member
    So Google is set to spend roughly one third of the cash they have on hand, to pay a 63% premium for a company that has been losing money, just so they can have the patents. Me thinks they would had fared better if they partnered with someone and bought the Nortel patents instead. That was one very expensive move by Google to let that slip away. They could had just spent maybe 2.5 b if they partnered, but instead they are paying 5 times that amount.
  • Reply 66 of 236
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    oops double post
  • Reply 67 of 236
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    The more I think about this, the more I conclude that Google next needs to bid for ZTE.



    Why?



    Because then the combined firm can be called Googonzola.
  • Reply 68 of 236
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post


    From my limited understanding, they cover some pretty fundamental parts of the standards. They've been in the game a very long time.



    The problem with that is if the patents are indeed fundamental, then they become standardized and must be licensed to any and every one at a set price.



    After this play, I have to seriously question Android's profitability. Google has spent a great deal of money on a handset business that is bleeding cash every quarter. Google also has some potentially high dollar lawsuits against it because of android. Google has been less than upfront of what android earns in revenue from the beginning. How much is too much when it comes to this "free" OS?
  • Reply 69 of 236
    I think I'll pat myself on the back. I've been saying for a year on here that Apple should buy MotoMobility. Now Google has it and everyone is going to learn just how valuable MM is to the mobile wars.



    Bad move, Steve... you just lost a huge piece of the puzzle. $12.5 billion will seem like peanuts in another 2 years.
  • Reply 70 of 236
    hudson1hudson1 Posts: 800member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by djmikeo View Post


    So Google is set to spend roughly one third of the cash they have on hand, to pay a 63% premium for a company that has been losing money, just so they can have the patents. Me thinks they would had fared better if they partnered with someone and bought the Nortel patents instead. That was one very expensive move by Google to let that slip away. They could had just spent maybe 2.5 b if they partnered, but instead they are paying 5 times that amount.



    Google had to insure that their customers weren't put out of business by Motorola Mobility's legal department. It would have been been a bad deal for Google if Moto forced HTC and Samsung to go elsewhere for an OS just to stay in business, leaving Google with only a failing Motorola as a customer. That might have spelled death for the Android platform.
  • Reply 71 of 236
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by freckledbruh View Post


    The problem with that is if the patents are indeed fundamental, then they become standardized and must be licensed to any and every one at a set price.



    After this play, I have to seriously question Android's profitability. Google has spent a great deal of money on a handset business that is bleeding cash every quarter. Google also has some potentially high dollar lawsuits against it because of android. Google has been less than upfront of what android earns in revenue from the beginning. How much is too much when it comes to this "free" OS?



    Well, Nortel's patents were just as or more parts of the various standards and that didn't keep Apple et al from bidding high for them. They can still be used as weapons, for both sides.
  • Reply 72 of 236
    tundraboytundraboy Posts: 1,884member
    If it's really about acquiring the patents, then why not just buy the patents? B.S. They want the hardware business too and they're thinking that they can hang on to the other Android manufacturers even after acquiring moto mobility just by making promises of their undying devotion. My guess is they really have finally admitted (or observed) that their one-OS-many-phones 'open' model just cannot keep up with the pace of refinement and improvement of Apple's integrated approach.



    Samsung, HTC and the other Android mfrs are probably scrambling right this very moment to find alternatives to suckling at the Google teat. At least Samsung has Bada but for those with no resources to build their own OS, this is a tough nut to crack given that MS is making out on the couch with Nokia. This development might send them straight to bed.
  • Reply 73 of 236
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tundraboy View Post


    If it's really about acquiring the patents, then why not just buy the patents? B.S. They want the hardware business too and they're thinking that they can hang on to the other Android manufacturers even after acquiring moto mobility just by making promises of their undying devotion. My guess is they really have finally admitted (or observed) that their one-OS-many-phones 'open' model just cannot keep up with the pace of refinement and improvement of Apple's integrated approach.



    Samsung, HTC and the other Android mfrs are probably scrambling right this very moment to find alternatives to suckling at the Google teat. At least Samsung has Bada but for those with no resources to build their own OS, this is a tough nut to crack given that MS is making out on the couch with Nokia. This development might send them straight to bed.



    umm, just a guess, but maybe moto didn't want to sell 'just the patents'.
  • Reply 74 of 236
  • Reply 75 of 236
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by freckledbruh View Post


    The problem with that is if the patents are indeed fundamental, then they become standardized and must be licensed to any and every one at a set price.



    The patents are, at least according to Jha, a mixture of essential patents and unencumbered patents - I believe that the ones that Moto is asserting against Apple mostly fall into the latter camp. For example Moto is currently asserting



    http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...&RS=PN/6246862



    Which seems to be a patent covering disabling the touchscreen when the phone is up against your ear.





    Quote:

    After this play, I have to seriously question Android's profitability. Google has spent a great deal of money on a handset business that is bleeding cash every quarter. Google also has some potentially high dollar lawsuits against it because of android. Google has been less than upfront of what android earns in revenue from the beginning. How much is too much when it comes to this "free" OS?



    To be fair to Moto they're not bleeding very much, they hover mostly around break even. Definitely interesting times though - buying Moto significantly increases Google's legal liability as well as their defence.
  • Reply 76 of 236
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post


    Well, Nortel's patents were just as or more parts of the various standards and that didn't keep Apple et al from bidding high for them. They can still be used as weapons, for both sides.



    Google has just made it so that Steve might have to find a couple of other manufacturers for iOS.



    There was no other company other than MM that is so cheap, has such brand recognition and has such a large patent portfolio.



    This well could be the move that will be looked upon in 5 years as the point where iOS became truly marginalized.



    Dumb, dumb move on Apple's part imo... but we'll all know within two years if that's the case.
  • Reply 77 of 236
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post






    Har! Very good!
  • Reply 78 of 236
    deanbardeanbar Posts: 113member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    Bold move. I wonder what HTC and other Android using handset makers will think about this...



    Yes, I remember how "Playforsure" worked out for Microsoft and their partners at the time.



    Can't see HTC, Samsung etc being too happy about this, they may well move over to MS WP7 now.
  • Reply 79 of 236
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    Google has just made it so that Steve might have to find a couple of other manufacturers for iOS.



    There was no other company other than MM that is so cheap, has such brand recognition and has such a large patent portfolio.



    This well could be the move that will be looked upon in 5 years as the point where iOS became truly marginalized.



    Dumb, dumb move on Apple's part imo... but we'll all know within two years if that's the case.



    maybe. Or maybe Apple believes the patents acquired from Nortel give them equal leverage. That is the only good part about the big boys acquiring massive IP right now. If they all have patents everyone else needs, then eventually they have to settle with each other and cross license. Anything else would be insane, though obviously they could all sue each other forever. Mutually ensured destruction, indeed.
  • Reply 80 of 236
    iqatedoiqatedo Posts: 1,822member
    If Google bought Moto Mobility just to secure their patent portfolio, where will they capitalise on the purchase? Is there $12.5B in suing Apple for infringement wherever they can and in giving Fandroid driven hardware makers free access to the covered technology?



    Perhaps Google has learned a lesson care of Apple. Apple of course, controls their hardware and OS. Perhaps Google has ambitions of becoming a hardware/OS company and of taking Apple on directly. A risky strategy, however, perhaps Google is out of options for reigning Apple in.



    Two victims of this strategy would be the open, free Android mantra and the patents are evil and stifle innovation mantra. Of course, other manufacturers that depend on Android would become victims too, however, they will have seen the writing on the wall long before Android goes in-house and will have voluntarily moved on lol.
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