The Google/Motorola deal is lawyer repellent. Or rat poison, if you prefer. It is a tragic and wasteful byproduct of our screwed-up patent system. Just this year, $18 billion is being spent not on innovation and invested not in entrepreneurship and growth but instead in fending off lawsuits. Damn straight, we need patent reform.
Having said that, this is good for Google and Android and its ecosystem. That's why HTC, LG, and Sony all released statements praising the deal. Google isn't going into competition with them. Google is buying them protection to defend against Apple, Nokia, and other patent holders and legal thugs.
The net result is that Android can now explode even more than it has already. I imagine -- I hope -- there were other companies in other fields -- cars, appliances, TV, devices of all sorts -- that were waiting for some security so they could add connectivity to their devices, using Android.
Google wins because, as I've been saying, the real war here is over signal generation: Google, Facebook, and to an extent Apple and telcos and others want us to generate signals about ourselves -- who we are, where we are, what we want, who we know, what we're looking for, where we're going -- so they can better target their content, services, and advertising. Mobile is a great signal generator.
But I've also been saying that mobile will become a meaningless word as we become connected everywhere, all the time. Who's to say or care whether we're connected with a phone as we walk, through our car, on our couch via the TV, in the kitchen via the iFridge, or at the desk (remember that?). Mobile=local=me.
I disagree with those who say that Google had hardware envy vis a vis Apple. Google went into the hardware business and was smart enough to get out. I imagine that Google will operate Motorola as an independent entity; it won't become Googley. Indeed, I can imagine Google spinning off the product arm, keeping the rat poison.
So this is a good if unfortunate deal to have to be done. That's my take.
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A lot of engineer will lost his job if the patent process is clean up.
Going past the relative merits of either party, to understand the finer points of the law behind the tech, go here: www.groklaw.com
At the very least, fanbois on both sides should understand for themselves what is at stake here.
Thanks.
The patent system is sick and needs fixing. Right now thoroughly shady people are exploiting it just to rake in money while making no contribution to society.
"“We welcome today’s news, which demonstrates Google’s deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem..." --Samsung
“We welcome Google’s commitment to defending Android and its partners..." --LG
"We welcome the news of today’s acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem..." --HTC
And on and on. They all said the same things. Google obviously sent out some talking points -- and like the author of this piece, they all threw up a little bit and then quoted the memo more or less directly.
Strange, its always the people that do not develop technology and intellectual property (IP) that decry the patent process. While I agree that IP system could be improved to increase competitiveness in the market, I wouldn't argue the mobile telephony and computing market needs more competition.
I'm reluctant to even give you the "open" argument, but even with giving you that, they have opened up someone else's house and allowed people to come in and take stuff, which is one of Google's strong points, the only time Google talks about protecting IP is when it suits them, and most of the time they are the ones reachign into someone else's cookie jar.
Now, they have become what they once fought.
"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
Friedrich Nietzsche
In 2009 HTC said it would no longer make phones directly for Google (recall the Nexus One). If Google wanted to continue in the direction of selling what I call "ad phones" it needed a new manufacturer. Samsung was a great company for that, but now now Google owns a great wireless device manufacturer.
Google wants to dominate the "ad phone" world. The only way to make "privacy invasive" ad phones is to own the handset maker. Getting Motorola means Google can call the shots on making phones with included free apps, where the main purpose is to sell ad space. Google knows the big money is in selling targeted advertising on phones that tell advertisers who you are, where you are and what you are doing.
Then there are the 16 thousand patents Google bought. That "preemptively settles" a lot of litigation without a single lawsuit being filed. Heck, simply on the patents alone Google is getting huge value on this deal.
And Motorola's Mobility division was losing money. For someone to give it $12.5 billion to eliminate this headache, well Motorola is thinking that's one awesome aspirin pill.