Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/15/breaking-google-buys-motorola-for-12-5-billion/

by iamben • 15 years ago

1214 369 15 years ago

techcrunch.com

twidlit• 15 years ago

Wow, not any of the tech blogs saw the smoke before the fire? Could be a hardware + patents play...

Happer• 15 years ago

"Quick and easy fix for all Android patent problems. Google should buy Motorola" 02 Aug 11, unwiredview.com:

http://www.unwiredview.com/2011/08/02/quick-and-easy-fix-to-...

artaxerxes• 15 years ago

http://www.brianshall.com/content/motorola-mmi-reminds-micro...

Correctly interpreting - if not actual tarot reading.

ErrantX3• 15 years ago

Only part of Motorola, and not generally the part considered the "original". :)

Motorola mobility was spun off of the main company in January - I think at the time there was commentary on the stock markets that it was done with the aim to get someone to buy it.

So Motorola will exist still - as Motorola Solutions (it is the bigger & more profitable part of the company anyway) and Google get a phone manufacture division under their control.

Interesting move.

tpatke• 15 years ago

I wonder how many patents were transferred to the new company. Motorola certainly has a lot and MSFT and Apple have been overpaying lately...

Jabbles2• 15 years ago

http://mediacenter.motorola.com/Press-Releases/Motorola-Mobi...

http://www.unwiredview.com/2011/08/01/did-motorola-just-hint...

~24,500 (~17000 Granted and ~7000 Pending)

hammock2• 15 years ago

They did it for the patents. Larry Page: "Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies."

Seems like the best jobs at Google will soon be the lawyers, not the engineers.

sunchild• 15 years ago

Many patent lawyers are engineers.

ErrantX3• 15 years ago

I suspect it is a little from column A and a little from column B; he did also talk about it being good for the user experience etc.

They get patents and a manufacturing arm (which then gives them control of the entire product cycle for Android).

The latter is a logical move; a lot of Apple's success comes from controlling all aspects of the iPhone. I know Android is open software, but internally for Google it makes sense to drive product development from the hardware side too.

ristretto3• 15 years ago

What is there under $12 billion? 17000 patents, but how many employees, and what sales stats?

lurker142• 15 years ago

What exactly is "Motorola Mobile" and what is the rest of Motorala? I saw that in the news headline and figured there was going to be a lot of confusion over what actually got bought.

iam3• 15 years ago

Motorola spun off into Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions. Think of Mobility as the classic consumer oriented Motorola who sells cell phones. Solutions targets enterprise/government.

ConstantineXVI4• 15 years ago

They're roughly broken down as follows:

Moto Mobile: general consumer devices (phones, tablets, GPS nav, DSL/cable modems, IPTV boxes, etc.)

Moto Solutions: enterprise and industrial stuff (2-way radios, RFID, barcode scanners, networking)

ristretto3• 15 years ago

In a few years we will have Motorola vs Nokia under new names, Google vs Microsoft. Apple will still hold strong onto their upper 5%.

latch• 15 years ago

63% premium...insanity. This is all about patents, isn't it?

Instead of spending $4billion for patents, spend 3x as much, get a huge portfolio (I don't know how large, but it's supposedly quite large)..and a part of a company as well.

microtonal• 15 years ago

Patents are probably part of it. Another motivation may be that Google wants to avoid the Android ecosystem to spiral out of control. Android phones vary widely in quality, both with respect to hardware and software (thanks to vendor 'extensions'). Maybe they are hoping to produce an Android phone under tight control, to set a benchmark for the rest.

Also, Apple has shown that piles of cash can be made on good, though slightly expensive margins.

teyc• 15 years ago

I checked out Motorola's product line up on their website. It isn't very exciting. (I don't live in the US, so I don't know how much brand value there is).

chollida13• 15 years ago

I'd say this was probably plan b, for if their previous patent purchase didn't happen.

The problem with Google, or any software company buying a hardware company is that generally the street values hardware at a lower multiple so this has the chance to pull down google's market cap.

We'll see how the market reacts to this during today's trading.

nknight7• 15 years ago

Was it plan B? Major purchases like this don't usually happen quickly. The Nortel and Novell stuff all went down in the last six months, and neither (separately or together) would have cost Google enough to make them back off an in-progress attempt to buy Motorola.

This could have been part of a Google patent blitz from the start.

ordinary• 15 years ago

> The problem with Google, or any software company buying a hardware company is that generally the street values hardware at a lower multiple so this has the chance to pull down google's market cap.

I don't think I understand what you're saying here. Could you elaborate a little?

rsynnott• 15 years ago

Almost certainly. The only other thing I can think of would be that they want to get out of the OEM business and make phones internally, but they'd probably buy a better phone manufacturer in that case. Motorola is loss-making.

nknight7• 15 years ago

Patents are a big part sure, but it's more generically about strengthening Android's position overall -- partly in the legal system through patents, and partly in the market through Google having direct control of a major cell phone manufacturer with direct lines to the providers.

BvS2• 15 years ago

6 month ago Motorola Mobility traded around 36$/share. Now Google is paying 40$/share.

wisty• 15 years ago

So they did overpay a bit. But there is a genuine synergy - a phone company being bought by a company that makes a phone OS.

This might hurt Android adoption a little, but I doubt Google really cares. All they really want are more browser phones, which will funnel more money into google (via adsense). Or maybe it will make Google more sensitive to what direction Android has to go.

nextparadigms3• 15 years ago

Google wouldn't have done it just for patents. They want to enter the hardware game as well. Both to show others how Android phones should be made, but also to make many billions from selling devices, as well. I think this is just the beginning for Google as a hardware company, and in a way it was inevitable. They are a strong tech brand, and they could become very successful selling tech products.

colintan2• 15 years ago

Yes I agree, and moreoever a mobile device company with social/search/payment infrastructure built in.

The days of ad-subsidized, and democratized mobile devices are upon us!

stravid• 15 years ago

MOTOROLA Launch Date: 1928

GOOGLE Launch Date: 7/9/1998

iqster2• 15 years ago

Motorola != Motorola Mobility. Motorola Mobility is a recent spin-off from Motorola and encompasses the original company's handset business as well as its related patent portfolio.

What does Motorola do? Well ... cellular infrastructure is their core business, and they also have services/solutions for things like emergency response services (e.g. 911 in the US), law enforcement, and I think they still make walkie talkies.

pietrofmaggi3• 15 years ago

Motorola was split in two companies the past 4th of January.

Motorola Mobility (MMI) and Motorola Solutions (MSI). The cellular infrastructure, part of MSI, was sold to Nokia/Siemes Networks.

Motorola Solutions in mainly the Enterprise Mobility Business (Mobile Rugged Devices), WiFi systems, Tetra networks and a lot of other Government stuffs.

St-Clock• 15 years ago

Maybe Google did this partly to acquire patents from Motorola mobility (I don't know if they have any, but they must).

mtts• 15 years ago

Yup, they do. 24500 of them, according to the press release they sent out when they split off from the rest of Motorola.

amirmc• 15 years ago

Larry Page via the google blog: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/supercharging-android...

"Motorola’s total commitment to Android in mobile devices is one of many reasons that there is a natural fit between our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers everywhere"

and

"Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies."

jmvoodoo• 15 years ago

I wonder if Motorola's patent portfolio will be enough to keep the lawyers at bay?

RexRollman2• 15 years ago

You gotta think this is about the patents more than anything. But I could be wrong.

bergie3• 15 years ago

I wonder how other Android manufacturers will react to this. Maybe it'll boost MeeGo?

jonknee2• 15 years ago

I'm going to go out on a limb and say no, MeeGo will not get a boost.

cincinnatus2• 15 years ago

I suspect WinPhone 7 smells a little better every day.

yuvipanda2• 15 years ago

MeeGo was stillborn.

bergie3• 15 years ago

I'd say that is too early to say. Though the departure of Nokia was disappointing.

wgren• 15 years ago

On one hand, other Android based phone manufacturers are clearly going to face an uphill struggle if Google are going to release new versions of the OS on their own devices first.

On the other hand, it will hopefully provide some protection against being sued by Apple+Microsoft.

sigzero• 15 years ago

It doesn't help against Oracle though. If the OS goes what does it matter? Not that I think that will happen. More likely Google will be force to shell out some cash to Oracle.

felipemnoa• 15 years ago

I wouldn't be so sure. There is a chance that they can find a patent or two among the 24 thousand that they can use against Oracle.

ck2• 15 years ago

Whoa. You know what would be even more interesting than this would be Google going after ARM and it's slew of licensing.

I wonder if this will make better or worse Motorola mobile phones. Will phones be pushed into retirement more early without upgrading their version of Android? Or will they have a longer software update cycle to keep them up to date in features?

ConstantineXVI4• 15 years ago

There's no way an ARM acquisition by Google (or Apple, or Microsoft) would get past anti-trust issues; given that ARM, for all intents and purposes, owns the mobile market. Even if it got through, there'd be enough strings attached that there wouldn't be any value in it.

iam3• 15 years ago

Apple has enough money and more vested interest, they would be more likely to buy ARM than Google (or at least block Google's attempt at a buy out).

rokhayakebe• 15 years ago

Assuming they spent the money for patents, is this the best way to resolve this issue? Would it not be easier to throw 1M a thousand time over and let developers create solutions around these patents and open source the projects?

tlholaday• 15 years ago

You nées to pay the developer to create the workaround _and_ the litigator to prove in court that the workaround does not infringe.

fpgeek3• 15 years ago

And the time, patience and resources to survive the wave of legal attacks (including temporary setbacks) until the litigator succeeds...

mythz• 15 years ago

You can't code around patents, there is too many of them for any one person to know if you're infringing or not.

arkitaip• 15 years ago

So basically Google has acquired Motorala because they want to strengthen Android and build up a better patent portfolio. Funny how they don't mention users, better mobile experiences, etc all that much. I'm surprised how frank Larry Page is in his blogpost http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/supercharging-android...

Tichy2• 15 years ago

I am not sure if Apple would ever be caught admitting that any of their products suck. They will always sell stuff in a more positive way (I mean they won't say "our product x sucked, this is what we do to make it better"). Why should Google do it differently.

Caballera4• 15 years ago

Didn't Steve Jobs say Mobile Me sucked at WWDC 2011?

alf• 15 years ago

Official announcement from Google, written by Larry Page: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/supercharging-android...

He mentions patents specifically as one of the reasons for the acquisition.

martingordon2• 15 years ago

So now Google has blessed a hardware manufacturer as the official Android manufacturer, and despite Google's insistence that Android is open, I don't think we've seen the Honeycomb source code yet. How long until Google no longer offers the Android source at all?

Samsung, HTC and the others are probably not very happy about this and will likely move them to start pushing their Windows Phone 7 handsets a bit harder than overly relying on Android.

ldng2• 15 years ago

Well it's not like it's an unknown situation. It's more like going back to Symbian licensing situation a few years back.

pyrmont• 15 years ago

Yeah, that worked out great.

starwed• 15 years ago

>despite Google's insistence that Android is open, I don't think we've seen the Honeycomb source code yet

The word "yet" is mildly disingenuous. No one is waiting for them to do that -- google said a while ago that it wouldn't happen, but that they would release the source to Ice Cream Sandwich.

listic• 15 years ago

How can Google get away with not publishing GPL-derivative code from the legal point of view?

sadlyNess• 15 years ago

From Larry's post: "This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences."

Edit: Interesting to see huge difference in rationality/understanding of those who read Larry's post versus the TC'd version of the story.

martingordon2• 15 years ago

Google is going the Apple route and building well-integrated hardware and software. The problem is that they're taking a detour into mid-90s Apple where other manufacturers were cannibalizing Mac sales. It's inevitable that Google will one day decide that it makes more sense to make $350 from every Android phone sold than from only 15% of them (or whatever Motorola's Android marketshare is).

deskamess• 15 years ago

Officially the other manufacturers have welcomed this as a move to protect Android. Which they profit from. Perhaps the patents that Google acquired can be lumped in with other patents from these companies for a 'MPEG like' protection cartel. Use it to get rid of any more additional payments to Microsoft or Apple in the future.

I hope Google uses the facility to build developer phones and tablets. That way you do not compete too much with the other phone makers. Release a new device every year with new features.

iamben• 15 years ago

From Reuters a few weeks back:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/21/us-motorola-idUKTRE...

"Billionaire investor Carl Icahn urged Motorola to shop around its patent portfolio to cash in on interest in wireless technology from companies like Google Inc and Apple Inc."

iam3• 15 years ago

Later down there's a whole section titled "OPPORTUNITY FOR GOOGLE?"

Would've been nice to see that news a few weeks ago, then today's acquisition wouldn't have been so out of the blue.

Swannie• 15 years ago

It is worth noting this is the handset manufacturing part of Motorola.

Google's first foray into consumer electronics? That's big news. Phones and tablets. They are now competing directly in Apple's space.

Full control over the handset stack? (Did Samsung really push back that much on newer "GooglePhone" design?) Or access to patents? It's not really clear. However they do buy themselves a worldwide R&D facility.

drink• 15 years ago

This is the beginning of the end for Android as an open platform. Google will have a financial incentive to release the best phones as Motorola devices. I would not want to be HTC today.

I like how Larry Page talks about IP in the blog post. After all of that talk about how patents were overpriced, Google comes out and spends more money than anyone on acquiring what is basically a terrible handset maker with a large IP portfolio. At the end of the day, Google does what's best for Google.

RuadhanMc4• 15 years ago

Google has got to play the game until the rules of the game change. They need patents for protection. Yes, the patents are overpriced, but does Google have a choice?

jamesteow• 15 years ago

And nobody has to change the rules if people play the game.

jonknee2• 15 years ago

It's all about execution. It's not like it hasn't been in HTC/Samsung/Etc's best interest to release the best phones they could. Google showed as much with the Nexus line (same manufacturer, better handsets).

Tichy2• 15 years ago

I don't think Google is interested in making profits with hardware sales. It is still about getting Google search into as many hands as possible (and collecting lots of data).

peq• 15 years ago

I hope google cares more about updating android for the motorola droid2. Maybe I will finally get 2.3 :D

TillE• 15 years ago

I swore off buying another Motorola product ever again after it took them an absurdly long time to roll out 2.2 for the Milestone. 2.3 is nowhere in sight. Shockingly terrible support for a flagship product.

We'll see how quickly Google can transform them. Android could really use a line of official devices that are consistently updated like iOS devices.

evilduck2• 15 years ago

Motorola isn't the only manufacturer to fail their customers like that. Samsung is worse and HTC is only slightly better, but overall the outlook for any Android phone getting promptly updated over the duration of the contract period is bleak at best.

Caballera4• 15 years ago

They do have the Nexus One and Nexus 2.

mtkd• 15 years ago

... or Google takes a gun to the knife fight on patents - http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/business/231400...

haasted2• 15 years ago

This is probably going to make some of the other handset manufacturers (HTC, Sony-Ericsson, etc) complain about Motorola having an unfair advantage when it comes to implementing Android.

Wonder if any of them are about to regret basing their smartphone offerings on Android? The move ought to strengthen the competition among the handsets, though, as Google can now ship their "dream-version" of an Android-phone.

iaskwhy2• 15 years ago

Might be really good news for Microsoft on the day Windows Phone Mango RTM leaked.

nknight7• 15 years ago

I'm honestly not sure how much HTC cares about Motorola.

They're a competitor, yeah, but I doubt Googorola will be pumping out huge volumes of phones for every segment of the non-dumbphone market like HTC does, and HTC still pumps out Windows phones, too. I doubt they'll be shy about picking up another OS if a good one comes along, either.

I think HTC worries a lot more about Apple+iOS than they do about Motorola+Android. And they have an established friendly relationship with Google, I don't see that suddenly vanishing. It's not like they threw a fit when Google went to Samsung for the next Nexus phone.

bergie3• 15 years ago

Yep, this might be good news for the other "licensable" smartphone/tablet operating systems, which include WP7, webOS and MeeGo.

Samsung already has Bada, which may have ambitions to become a bit more of a proper smartphone operating system. But there is a bunch of manufacturers that may have to switch from Android because of this deal.

darklajid2• 15 years ago

Isn't Samsung talking to HP about WebOS for a while now?

And - are there reasons to believe that Bada is not dead/completely irrelevant by now?

51Cards6• 15 years ago

Apparently these are their early comments. Of course how much thought has gone into these yet is another question.

http://www.google.com/press/motorola/quotes/

sequoia• 15 years ago

This was really funny; couldn't they've at least tried to make it look like the quotes weren't all written by one person?

    q1v1: We welcome today’s news,                    which demonstrates Google’s deep commitment        to defending Android, its partners, and the        ecosystem.
    q1v2: We welcome the news of today‘s acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem.

    q2v1: I  welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.
    q2v2: We welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.

Caballera4• 15 years ago

Additionally how much can they really say, if they say something negative like, OH S@#$!! we're in trouble now, their stock will take a hit.

Jabbles2• 15 years ago

Keeping Android open whilst treating their own phone manufacturing fairly will be a big challenge for Google. I hope they manage it. If done correctly the result should be a improvement in Android for all manufacturers, as the internal demands of Motorola will want to be heard, but cannot be prioritised.

I am still puzzled as to how Skype cost $8billion.

FYI Motorola Mobility had 24,500 patents when it was launched. http://mediacenter.motorola.com/Press-Releases/Motorola-Mobi...

joelhaasnoot• 15 years ago

This will indeed be a challenge: keeping the interests of their own cell phone division and third party hardware makers. Might be just another "HTC Sense" type skin added to Android...

jonursenbach• 15 years ago

Motorola already has that with Motoblur.

cincinnatus2• 15 years ago

If they have any sense they are already negotiating the sale of the physical business on to someone else. Keep the patent portfolio and recuop $6 billion of the initial outlay.

Also, "open" in name only.

Tyrannosaurs• 15 years ago

Who would be interested in buying a marginally profitable manufacturing business in a highly competitive market for any significant amount of money.

Besides, I think Google are doing this, in part, to produce what everyone has been asking for - an Android phone without the crap heaped on it, a phone that will allow people to judge Android for what it is rather than for what Samsung, HTC and others think it should be.

rbanffy20• 15 years ago

> Also, "open" in name only.

"open" as in:

  $ repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git

kylec2• 15 years ago

Interestingly, this means the only manufacturer-neutral smartphone OS is now Windows Phone 7. iOS is on Apple, Android is on Motorola/Google, Blackberry on RIM, and webOS on HP/Palm. I wonder if this means we'll see an increase in WP7-based phones from HTC, Samsung, and LG...

sinhpham• 15 years ago

Well, there's Nokia for Win Phone 7 =)

kylec2• 15 years ago

True, but it's not as though Microsoft bought Nokia. As crazy as that sounds, though, that would have been less crazy than Google's buying Motorola and how now they've suddenly become a mass-market hardware manufacturer. I really fear that things that Google has historically been bad at (support, etc) will come back to bite them hard.

haasted2• 15 years ago

Isn't it questionable whether WP7 will be manufacturer-neutral? The level of cooperation between Nokia and Microsoft remains to be seen, but a possible outcome is that Nokia ends up looking like a subsidiary of Microsoft.

EiZei• 15 years ago

It might become a subsidiary instead of just looking like one, Nokia's stock jumped up over 10% here just now due to the speculation that Microsoft might be eying them especially after this move.

qeorge2• 15 years ago

True, and if RIM keeps dropping I wouldn't be surprised to see MS acquire them.

RexRollman2• 15 years ago

I hadn't really thought about it but your are right. This development gives the rise to the possibility of a "real" Google Phone.

If nothing else, this might mean it will be easier to root Motorola phones in the future, as Google seems to see rootability as a feature.

dstein• 15 years ago

Once Apple's vertical model started working, everyone was jealous.

etaty• 15 years ago

Samsung has Bada : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bada_%28operating_system%29

recoiledsnake8• 15 years ago

I don't see how Bada is relevant. First, is it available to non-Samsung OEMs? Second, Bada is in the same situation as Symbian/Android is in now, a major h/w manufacturer leading the development, unlike WP7.

nextparadigms3• 15 years ago

WP7 is not exactly neutral anymore after the "special" deal they've made with Nokia, where they give them a lot more liberties than to the other manufacturers.

rbanffy20• 15 years ago

Android is platform neutral in a way no other can aspire to: it's open-source.

What Google did was to gain access to Motorola Mobility's patent portfolio in order to defend HTC and Samsung from Apple and Microsoft. Google will own the company, but it will not become Google Mobility - it'll continue to exist as a separate entity.

They will probably manufacture the reference implementations. In order to reassure other phone manufacturers, Google will probably improve their code release schedule.

recoiledsnake8• 15 years ago

>Android is platform neutral in a way no other can aspire to: it's open-source.

In practice, is the platform that much different from Windows? Anyone can slap it on any hardware and sell it as Windows and pre-install their own software. In fact, with Windows they don't have to follow the rules OEMs need to follow to bundle things like Maps and Android Marketplace with the phone.

runjake4• 15 years ago

Portions of Android are open source. I can't go to android.git.kernel.org, download the complete source and compile it into an identical image of what's on my phone.

Additionally, vanilla Android on a consumer device is fairly rare. Most are molested with Sense or BLUR or whatever tragic "vendor-added experience" Samsung inflicts. So in reality, most consumer Android phones aren't really that open source at all, holistically.

grovulent• 15 years ago

The comments about this being the end of android as open source are pretty reactionary.

C'mon folks. Remember the moat analogy? Search? MOOLA!

fbnt2• 15 years ago

By the look of motorola solutions website, there's nothing that links the newly acquired company, at least directly, to the mobile phone hardware market.

From Wikipedia:

   Motorola Solution Corporate structure

   The company is structured into two divisions:

   Enterprise: Comprises communications offered to government enterprise 
   mobility business.        
   Motorola develops advanced data capture, wireless infrastructure, bar 
   code scanning, two-way radios and business pagers, wireless broadband 
   networks and RFID solutions to customers worldwide.

   Government: Produces public safety and government products. Motorola 
   develops analog and digital two-way radio, voice and data communications 
   products and systems, Wireless LAN Securities and mobile computing, 
   among others.

iaskwhy2• 15 years ago

It was Motorola Mobility, not Motorola Solutions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Mobility

fbnt2• 15 years ago

Thanks. Clearly, I'm still sleeping.

pinaceae• 15 years ago

good for Nokia, as it shows that Google now has the possibility to close down Android.

ConstantineXVI4• 15 years ago

Technically, yes. However, given how much other OEMs have invested into Android, any significant special treatment to Motorola will have the anti-trust dogs on them in no time. With the scrutiny Google's under right now, they don't have much of a choice.

av500• 15 years ago

1) grab the patents

2) sell the non-smartphone business to ZTE or Huawei

3) try to make (android) smartphones and fail the same as non-google motorola did, then realize it does not matter because of 1)

UPDATE: 4) sell the Motorola brand name to ZTE or Huawei

ThomPete• 15 years ago

If this is purely a patent hunt then fine.

If Google hope to get better vertical integration it's my guess they are in for a surprise.

On the surface these acquisitions always sound like they are a good idea. Combine X strenght with Y strenght.

In reality you have two very strong cultures that have to work together. That's simply not going to happen.

Vertical integration is not just a question of having the skill all the way down to manufacturing. It's even more about being able to carry a design vision all the way trough.

Anyone who worked in or with a large organization know how plausible that is.

da_dude4242• 15 years ago

Not sure they are seeking vertical integration at least not at the expense of the horizontal span that has expanded the android ecosystem beyond iOS.

wilhelm• 15 years ago

Now, that explains the recent agressive hiring. I was wondering what they were up to.

mwill• 15 years ago

The headline threw me at first, then I started thinking about how closely they worked with them on the Xoom, iirc they Honeycomb guys were testing and working on the Xoom exclusively (From the Google I/O keynote I think)

I wonder if we'll see more open (i.e. easily rootable, well documented etc) handsets coming from this deal. Not entirely sure but I think the Nexus One was the last really transparent HTC Android device...

RuadhanMc4• 15 years ago

It's fascinating to see the behemoths (Apple, Microsoft, Google) positioning themselves for the fight ahead. The importance of this fight cannot be understated.

Microsoft won the last fight like this and they have dominated our desktops for 15 years (OK, maybe not all HN devotees) and pocketed gazillions.

Apple are ahead right now (manufacturing handsets, selling software, etc), Google are second and Microsoft are lagging behind in third, but this Motorola deal means that Google might be able to pull ahead of Apple for a period and alienated phone manufacturers who are using Android might flock to Microsoft, inflating their sails a little.

w1ntermute2• 15 years ago

> Apple are ahead right now (manufacturing handsets, selling software, etc)

Uhh, haven't more Android handsets been sold per day than iOS handsets for like the last 6 months?

RuadhanMc4• 15 years ago

Perhaps, but Apple make a ton more money per handset than Google does, so in my mind they are ahead. They also continue to lead design-wise. Manufacturers are still copying Apple products in this space.

rbanffy20• 15 years ago

> Google might be able to pull ahead of Apple for a period

That would be a huge mistake - and they know it. That's why they made it clear Motorola Mobility will be run as a separate business. It would be unbelievably foolish to hand Microsoft the Android ecosystem and Google is not known to sacrifice long-term profit.

fpgeek3• 15 years ago

And, sadly, another voice for patent reform is muted...

_fn• 15 years ago

The patent reform they are fighting for will take years if not decades. This is a good short term move, they can't just sit and watch the Apple/Microsoft patent attack.

fpgeek3• 15 years ago

As long as they don't get corrupted by their new hoard along the way...

billybob• 15 years ago

One interesting side note: Sprint/Nextel has always heavily relied on Motorola phones, and a few months back, Sprint and Google rolled out tight integration between Sprint service and Google Voice (http://googlevoiceblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/sprint-integrate...)

So now I'm wondering 1) Was Spring anticipating this merger, and 2) will Google's purchase of Motorola be a boon for Sprint?

I'm not a Sprint customer, but in the name of keeping more competitors in the mobile market, I do want to see them stay in the game.

jeffool• 15 years ago

I'm of the mindset that this is chiefly for the patents... But.

The real benefactors of this? The former Danger team that made the TMobile Sidekick, one of whom created Android.

If you recall, shortly after the last I/O the gang was announced reunited at Google working on a plethora of hardware toys. I think Google just bought them a new playground to play in.

dotcoma2• 15 years ago

ok, 24,500 patents. And - I know it's old-fashioned - how many employees?

drivingmenuts• 15 years ago

Sad to say, I don't think employees count anymore. It's all about locking up the patents.

OTOH, X number of people now work for Google without having to take those quizzes.

elliottcarlson• 15 years ago

From what I have read in previous HN threads - merged in employees still have to interview for placement purposes - could be off on that one though, but I em pretty sure I have read this more than once. Could also be a different story if the nature is more of a talent acquisition, but that is clearly not the case here.

rbanffy20• 15 years ago

Motorola Mobility has lots of very smart people who know Android as well as, if not better, than its creators.

toyg2• 15 years ago

Wikipedia says 19,000. I believe most of them will be safe, probably even in Sales, considering how the two companies hardly overlap at all.

(unless Larry is really thinking to grab the patents and then chuck everything else to some Taiwanese company)

dotcoma2• 15 years ago

but my point is: you have a 25,000 people company that wants to simplify its operations, and what do they do? They buy a 19,000 people company.

digamber_kamat• 15 years ago

I think RIM should now invest their remaining cash into making a REST IN PEACE board for their grave.

rch2• 15 years ago

Seems odd that nobody is mentioning spectrum ownership. Maybe now we could start to see some areas with open/free access to high-bandwidth wireless data networks.

jauer• 15 years ago

MM holds spectrum?

rch2• 15 years ago

Not sure actually - and quick searching only turns up sparse info around the 700 MHz and 2.5-2.6 GHz auctions, along with a few bits about LTE and WiMax. Maybe there are some long-term licenses or other agreements that could prove useful?

I guess things are unclear at best, but there is enough content to keep me curious about the possibilities.

bryanlarsen4• 15 years ago

What's the worst case scenario vis-a-vis Android openness and competitiveness?

Google can't take back the code it's already released other than the non-open source apps like Google Mail. But it can stop releasing new code. HTC et al are making too much money from Android, I doubt they'd stop investing in the platform, resulting in slow platform divergence a la Unix in the 80s and 90s.

3.2 hasn't been fully released to the open source community, but HTC and all the important players have it already, and I doubt that their license allows Google to yank it unilaterally.

Google does have to keep releasing code it based on GPL'd work, primarily the kernel, but that's a very small portion of the Android IP.

The first litmus test will be the release of Honeycomb.

Best case scenario? To me, that would involve Google moving towards a more open development model similar to what virtually all other successful open source projects employ.

They will be forced to make moves to placate HTC and all of their other partners, but whether those moves benefit us is the question.

antrix• 15 years ago

> The first litmus test will be the release of Honeycomb.

You mean Ice Cream Sandwich? Google has made it clear that they won't be making a Honeycomb source drop. Instead, ICS would contain the 'converged' codebase from their phone (Gingerbread) and tablet (Honeycomb) trees.

zacharypinter3• 15 years ago

If we want to get ultra-technical, releasing the git sources of Ice Cream Sandwich will pretty much require releasing the Honeycomb source as a prerequisite. However, there's not much point of basing your work off of Honeycomb over Ice Cream Sandwich at that point.

bryanlarsen4• 15 years ago

Doh, you're right, I meant Ice Cream Sandwich. And I was wondering why I was being downvoted. My comment made no sense whatsoever with that typo.

justin_hancock3• 15 years ago

Does this include any of the H264 patents that Motorola hold? If so this makes this story even more interesting, the cases for WebM/VP8 would change substantially.

andybak• 15 years ago

On one hand: http://www.mpegla.com/Lists/MPEG%20LA%20News%20List/Attachme...

"Parties with patents or patent applications determined by MPEG LA’s patent experts to be essential to the H.264/AVC standard (“standard”) so far include Columbia University, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute of Korea (ETRI), France Télécom, Fujitsu, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Philips, Polycom, Robert Bosch GmbH, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Thomson, Toshiba, and Victor Company of Japan (JVC)."

On the other - I don't see Motorola here: http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/AVC/Pages/Licensors.aspx

So I'm a bit confused about whether Google just managed to buy into AVC/h264 or not.

justin_hancock3• 15 years ago

The problem is knowing which part of Motorola held the patents, if it was mobility, which would seem logical in some ways (encryption of video streams and media) it would be a boon. Microsoft have a big case against Motorola over the license fees for h264.

Plus I assume there's the iDEN patents, which I suspect will have lots in the download/media area. It will certainly keep the wolves from the door.

My big hope is that Google do something altruistic with this, however it's shareholders may have other ideas.

Akuma• 15 years ago

So, did Google just buy a lot of "bogus" patents to be used in their "open" platform now or what?

larrik• 15 years ago

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, but MY first thought was Google bought Motorola so they can directly defend Android against Apple's Samsung-style lawsuits (which are now including the Xoom).

bryanlarsen4• 15 years ago

I also wonder if this will affect Google's choice of launch partner for Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0). Current rumours have that either being Samsung or that there are multiple partners. It'd be too late to back down on a Samsung choice, but if there were multiple partners...

forgotAgain• 15 years ago

It's still all about ads for Google.

With the patent war being fought by Apple and Microsoft they had no choice but to arm themselves. Otherwise they would soon face a mobile space dominated by the other two mobile OS vendors due to license fees that would make Android unprofitable for hardware vendors.

Apple and Microsoft would then push Google ads out of the mobile space by demanding a large share of ad proceeds or by pushing apps instead of HTML5.

davidedicillo2• 15 years ago

I wonder if Google will start giving away for free phones with ads, truly disrupting the market like they did with everything else.

cdevroe• 15 years ago

This title should say "Google Buys Motorola Mobility for $12.5 Billion". No?

presty• 15 years ago

Just speculating:

Could this be a genius move?

I don't know how good MM's patent portfolio is but not only they get lots of ammo for the patent war, they also get their own phone manufacturer.

And MM seems to in more than just phones, could they lead the way for the future of Android, namely Android@Home and Android Open Accessory?

ConstantineXVI4• 15 years ago

Don't forget MotoMobile also got Moto's cable box business. Think of every new Comcast, TWC, etc. subscriber suddenly having a Google TV box by default; which is fully integrated with their cable system. Apple and Roku's boxes wouldn't stand a chance.

evilduck2• 15 years ago

I'm not so sure about that. AppleTV and Roku boxes don't rely on a ridiculously expensive monthly subscriptions to be useful. The only damage to sales would be the people who would have bought an AppleTV/Roku box and retain their cable subscription.

A year's subscription to Netflix and a Roku or AppleTV are each just a little more expensive than a month of cable subscription, saving you a little less than 10 months of cable subscription fees. Google would have to add around $700/year worth of value to all these set top boxes to compete with that (not to mention having to play nice with the various cable companies and such).

blinkingled• 15 years ago

This is obviously great news for both Google and Motorola. I am glad they did not let the not buying Sun mistake repeat.

I have no idea what Sprint is worth but Google buying or investing in Sprint might take this to yet another level! And Larry had shown he isn't shy of adventures.

Still remains to be seen, how this impacts other manufacturers' support of Android. Could be WP7's gain. EDIT: http://www.google.com/press/motorola/quotes/ - Many including Sony Ericsson, LG and HTC have responded favorably.

toddmorey• 15 years ago

Funny how I've been anticipating Apple expanding into Google's search, services, and map space, but I certainly never thought of Google getting into hardware. I think it shows just how different the modern consumer space is from the last decade of computing. Unless you believe this is entirely about patents, Google has identified a need to give the Android ecosystem at least one device that's been holistically designed end-to-end.

darklajid2• 15 years ago

Oh. Can we bury MotoBlur now already? Please?

heydenberk• 15 years ago

In case there's any doubt this is about "defending Android", head over to http://www.google.com/press/motorola/quotes/ . Each of the four statements from an executive at a major device manufacturer users the particular phrase "defending Android."

qw2• 15 years ago

Perhaps we will see a "Google Xoom" that will be able to compete with iPad.

molecule• 15 years ago

Nexus Tablet?

benfwirtz• 15 years ago

Google shares already lost 4% on the Frankfurt Stock exchange ( http://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/EN/index.aspx?pageID=35&I... ), and Google didn't answer any questions on how they came up with this extraordinary price. I don't think $12.5bn is justifiable...

lallysingh2• 15 years ago

In terms of what they'll add to Android (patent protection for partners, stronger steering of hardware & user experience), it'll pay for itself pretty quickly.

gahahaha• 15 years ago

I always wonder: Wouldn't it be much cheaper to just spend a few billions to buy some new patent legislation from congress?

yuvipanda2• 15 years ago

Wouldn't that be countered with several more billions from basically everyone else opposing it (wouldn't be just tech firms)?

mingramjr• 15 years ago

how long would that take?

zacharypinter3• 15 years ago

I've wondered the same thing. It's not necessarily an either-or situation. If Google's willing to spend X billions of dollars on defensive patents, why not spend even a fraction of that on lobbying for software patent reform. If any company has the will and the means to do so, it would be Google.

zyb09• 15 years ago

While you can certainly throw some money behind a favorable legislation, I don't think it's as easy as making out a check to Washington DC and have your words be law. Politics are still a complicated, slow and cumbersome process.

esun• 15 years ago

Surely that's happening too.

colintan2• 15 years ago

There was some mention in a statement by Google of Motorola's success with consumer/home devices.

Any of you think there's a possibility of Motorola building on Google TV?

relevant article by Business Insider picking up on this point - http://www.businessinsider.com/motorola-doesnt-just-make-and...

exit• 15 years ago

i hope they hire a few new product designers while their wallets are open. motorola phones aren't vanishingly minimalistic enough.

51Cards6• 15 years ago

If there is one company I trust to not screw this up it's Google and I think they have a good shot at getting this right. I'm sure their partner companies are going to be a bit ansy to start but they all compete on hardware / price anyhow which this doesn't change. A few points that pop to mind:

A. They already had to compete with Motorola, so they haven't lost or gained a new competitor.

B. They don't pay for Android so Motorola hasn't gotten some new financial edge. Google just has to ensure that all companies still get source releases at the same time. What they do with them is up to them. (aside: I expect we will see MotoBlur disappear with some of its key features rolled into future Android releases)

C. This will allow Google to protect Android much better which is very beneficial to their bottom lines, especially if it keeps patent licensing costs off of their products.

D. Google just has to be sure they don't play favorites but from what I have seen up until now they have been good about that.

E. This may have just brought the competition for who gets to build the next Nexus to an end. (unless the next Nexus is already basically "done" at another partner company)

I think they can get this right... and now hopefully we can get a whole line of nice Motorola hardware with current Android and unlocked boot-loaders, etc. I might have to reconsider the Droid 3 again (more like Droid 4 one day, since 3 is already in the wild as is)

ristretto3• 15 years ago

A) But they didnt have to compete with Google so they have a new competitor

B) There is a lot at stake here, a good solution would be to donate android to an independent "Android foundation"

D) Still, google's phones will always be one step ahead with technologies that are hard to compete, like voice recognition, navigation and search.

In any case this could be a phenomenal move, and may even be a big boost for android tablets and other embedded devices, an unexploited area. It sounds like Google would like to try android on anything from cars, tvs and washing machines, but 3rd partners were unwilling to take the risk. Now they have their own hardware division.

bad_user2• 15 years ago

B) a foundation would be either a total facade for the current status quo (i.e. Google controlling everything Android), like the JCP is, or would be a really bad idea -- after all, if these phone makers could have created a good smartphone platform, they wouldn't have needed Android in the first place

D) not necessarily; currently Google's partners have access to the latest Android developments before the public release. And I don't think stuff like voice recognition, navigation and search requires special hardware, otherwise all the software and apps do get released.

I actually think that Android phone-makers will be happy, because it is not in Google's interests to fuck up the Android ecosystem just so they can sell their own phones. They are not and never will be like Apple, they will never enjoy the huge profit margins that Apple does -- it is in their best interests however for Google's apps to be the default on all mobiles.

dlikhten• 15 years ago

To add:

a) there will be at least 1 company focused on android which will be protected with the cloth that is Google's legal team.

b) Google can make Motorola better

c) Google can make hardware to go with their software.

d) Google can finally make Motorola phones running android open.

e) We can finally see what it means for a hardware company to exist with a motto: "Don't be Evil". Sure Google is not perfect, but all other companies have the motto: "Money first, morals second."

f) Google can make an incredible experience which would become the de-facto standard for Android phones. Finally killing off HTC sense.

podperson• 15 years ago

I hope you're right. But Google has certainly sold it to its Android partners as "we're going to use their patents to defend your crapware-ridden half-assed locked down handsets and then smother the hardware people with this wet pillow":

http://www.google.com/press/motorola/quotes/

intended2• 15 years ago

GOOG is a s/w company and not a manufacturer. The ability to integrate both sides of such different firms is very difficult. This puts both points b), c) and e) off the table.

Point f)? I'm not sure, but I really hope that they can do something while looking at exactly how it will play out on a phone. They did try this with the Nexus though, and that was not something which worked out perfectly imho.

M&A's have a tendency to be non-accretive to the purchaser. This looks like its going to be similar for Google.

runjake4• 15 years ago

Sure Google is not perfect, but all other companies have the motto: "Money first, morals second."

You're kidding, right? By law, this is the modus operandi of any publicly-traded company. If you think any different, you've simply fallen for their rhetoric.

InclinedPlane• 15 years ago

Given that Samsung and HTC have already embraced openness as a policy having "googarola" on that same team will add even more momentum to it. Even more when you consider that arduino is the basis for android accessories. In the near-term it's almost irrelevant if android were a worse experience and android devices were less capable (I don't think that's the case, which is all the better) because ultimately it's about development momentum and the OODA loop. If the android platform can congeal a larger critical mass of talented hackers and developers and they can get into a tighter and stronger feedback-develop-release cycle on their software and their hardware then they will beat the pants off of any of their competition.

malbs3• 15 years ago

In regards to point e) I'm not sure how "Don't be Evil" applies to a company that makes bomb components and missile guidance systems.

junkbit• 15 years ago

True, but Larry said in the call that Moto will have to bid to become the halo device each year on an equal footing

SoftwareMaven• 15 years ago

"My son is going to have to bid to get the contract to build the new city building, just like anybody else. He will be on equal footing."

I won't believe it until I see a regular pattern of Moto not getting picked. That goes against too much human nature.

51Cards6• 15 years ago

One further thought on the patent portfolio. Don't forget that Motorola is widely considered to have "invented" the first practical cell phone. Their patent portfolio isn't just going to be stuff like "Using shades of gray in a UI". It's going to run deep into what constitutes a mobile device.

bryanlarsen4• 15 years ago

Those patents would have been issued in the 70s and long since expired. Even the first generation digital cell phone patents should be mostly expired. I'm not sure how involved Motorola was in the consortiums that developed the 2G/3G/4G standards, but my impression was that they were dominated by the chipset vendors (Qualcomm etc) and the telecom guys (Nortel etc).

Of course, there were competing standards, and who primed which varies, but I don't think Motorola primed any of them.

chopsueyar2• 15 years ago

There must be a treasure-trove of prior-art, no?

51Cards6• 15 years ago

I agree, much of the early stuff will have expired, but Motorola being in the mobile biz so long probably means their waters still run pretty deep as far as core mobile functionality.

jsz02• 15 years ago

You're probably right. Motorola's own phones do not use a Motorola designed radio and haven't for many years.

BvS2• 15 years ago

When exactly do those kind of patents expire?

Osiris2• 15 years ago

The announcement stated that they have 7,000 patents in the pipeline right now, so I would say that Motorola clearly still has a lot of important patents on modern hardware.

I'm also curious to know if the 17,000 patents number includes expired patents or only current, enforceable patents.

r00fus2• 15 years ago

> Those patents would have been issued in the 70s and long since expired.

This makes sense if you're talking about individual patents, but often patents are interlinked, and with a "priority date" of a "key patent", subsequent patents can be filed and granted that effectively extend this window... these constitute a specific "patent portfolio".

Caballera4• 15 years ago

Maybe now Google will do something to help App developers from being sued.

bdunbar• 15 years ago

Well, that should be interesting.

I contracted at Motorola for a half-year - systems administration.

They were very segmented, regimented and separation of duty'd. It felt like you couldn't sneeze without having the boss's boss's boss sign off on it. And then over to security for his chop.

I've never been to Google or to Spain but from what I've read .. the culture mix is going to be interesting.

jdelsman• 15 years ago

Yeah, I agree. I contract at Motorola in China, and it is extremely regimented. The Chinese are very good at it, though. Coming from a startup culture, I can tell you it is hard to believe the two cultures are going to sit well with each other. There are going to have to be some changes.

I think its convenient how the software structure is already on Gerrit (http://code.google.com/p/gerrit/), and we all use Google Apps for email, etc.

thom2• 15 years ago

1) Buy a hardware company.

2) ?

3) Sell more advertising on search results.

vondur• 15 years ago

Wow, Google is pulling a Microsoft by entering into competition with its former partners. I can't believe that LG or Samsung are going to be excited about this. I guess that is the price you pay when you don't have control of the software.

joebadmo• 15 years ago

To make a broad point without going into details about patent quality:

Nortel: $4.5B / 6,000 patents = $750k per patent.

Motorola: $12.5B / 14,300 patents = $856,164.38 per patent.

Plus 6,700 patents pending.

Plus a hardware company.

There are obviously a lot of other factors, but it seems like a pretty good deal, and maybe a smarter way for Google to go about acquiring patents without having to deal with bidding wars with consortia of their competitors.

Either way, it seems the lawyers are winning. Everywhere.

justin_hancock3• 15 years ago

The other critical factor is whether the acquisition is a cash deal or a share based deal, a share arrangement would be very efficient indeed, hard to find meaningful details of the acquisition.

rmrm3• 15 years ago

you need to adjust for the fact that Motorola has 3 bil in cash and some deferred tax benefit of roughly equal amount -- the actual cost to Google is around $7 billion.

rmrm3• 15 years ago

you could adjust for the fact that Motorola has 3 bil in cash and some deferred tax benefit of roughly equal amount -- the actual cost to Google is around $7 billion.

cma• 15 years ago

But they could have bought 2.5 Dropboxes!

kennethologist• 15 years ago

Motorola recently bought Symbol is this included in the acquisition? If so this is huge and I wonder what is Google's plans for the rest of the company outside of the phone division.

18pfsmt3• 15 years ago

I realize this is an old converstaion, but, just so you know, Motorola bought Symbol about 5 years ago, but more recently, Motorola was split up into two companies: Motorola Solutions (B2B focused-> Symbol is a part of this business), and Motorola Mobility (more consumer focused). It is this second company that Google acquired. They are traded under the symbols MSI, and MMI, respectively.

eddieplan9• 15 years ago

I don't get it about the patent protection thing. If Apple can sue Motorola today despite Motorola's 17,000 patents, how could Google get any protection with the same 17,000 patents?

pnathan• 15 years ago

Manufacturing is a whole 'nother bag of chips from software development.

Best of luck to Google, they're in for a ride.

jbuchgr• 15 years ago

I am quite confident that this deal does not bring much changes to Android and related companies, because even tough Google bought Motorola Mobility, their commitment to the other device manufacturers (Samsung, HTC, LG...) will be as strong as ever. It's Google's goal to reach as many people as possible with their Android operating system, so they can sell ads and be the default/dominant search engine on the mobile platform.

I would even argue that, after the acquisition, they are going to take extra good care of their relations with Samsung and HTC. Also I'm quite positive that the executives of the before mentioned firms, who've already both been sued by Microsoft and Apple, welcome the acquisition at least in the short term, as it strengthens Android's position in the patent lawsuits. We must not forget that it's Android that made HTC and Samsung great in the smartphone business.

Androids (Google's+Motorolas) success, is HTC's, LG's and Samsung's success.

So from my point of view, all the above mentioned companies depend on each other, which is why I don't expect any big strategic moves/changes in the next few months/year on either side.

ewanmcteagle• 15 years ago

Will they allow motorola employees to work on google things? I've known motorola programmers and they are not at all of the same caliber as google programmers

jrockway• 15 years ago

I was at DoubleClick when it was bought by Google -- same issue. I left before the deal was completed, but it is my understanding that many people were told "we'll give you a year's salary if you would please just not come to work anymore". In a few months, everyone I knew from that job (minus a select few who were Google material) was working somewhere else.

kposehn• 15 years ago

You don't spend $12.5 billion on a device maker for patents; You just buy the damn patents. (~_~)

I actually was far more bullish on Android's prospects before given the rapid device growth, the de facto stealing of Symbian's marketshare and the adoption of the platform as a basic and functional OS for most users. However, as a strategy I think this is quite flawed initially.

As a device maker, Motorola Mobility would be a good play for HTC or Samsung. They'd be integrating an established maker with contracts, devices, patents, etc. For the platform maker to outright buy them would immediately put most other makers on guard.

What guarantee do you have that Google won't favor Motorola? How do you know that they will keep things on an equal footing? You don't. Case in point: travel comparison on AdWords. Google has shown their willingness to integrate vertically and throw valued customers under the bus.

In the long run, it makes absolutely zero sense for Google to keep Motorola as "just another device maker" in the Android ecosystem. They most likely will give it lip service for a year, try and fight off some patent suits and then slowly integrate things much more tightly. I think they're betting that they can become another Apple in terms of integration with Android not being overly harmed by other vendors fleeing to Microsoft. It is the logical strategy - the one driven by reality, not some PR spin of being "open".

jsskate• 15 years ago

This is a good way for Google to get software into the non-smartphone market.

matmann2001• 15 years ago

I just quit my job at Motorola on Friday.....

vyrotek• 15 years ago

Are you saying that you had you stayed you might have benefited somehow? Were you in the 'mobility' division? Did you leave stock options?

cft• 15 years ago

Dropbox valuation is nearly as much as Moto mobility. I wonder if you hand those kids that started Dropbox a bunch of chips, whether they would make a Droid handset? Are these enterprises the same level of complexity and know-how? There is no bubble...

jahmed• 15 years ago

At first this made absolutely no sense to me. Totally random borderline crazy, reasonable for defense but a huge risk. Why would Google buy a low margin phone builder thats struggling to make money, its just not reasonable unless they dont want to make money on phones.

Google isnt about the sky its about the floor. Yeah Google does all sort of crazy crap with self driving cars and wind energy but the real focus has always been raising the base. Look at Chrome and Android raising our expectations for speed, usability, security and cost. Google doesnt want Moto to build the Android iPhone, Google wants an Android Razr. The Android Razr would be a rugged dirt cheap smartphone. A new base level 'free' phone that out classes any feature phone. Its in Google's best interest to get a smartphone into the hands of every single person on the planet. How many Google searches can you do on a free AT&T Samsung Rugby® II, probably not that many. Its not a bad move and if executed well this could mark a huge push for the internet and personal communication devices.

jwr• 15 years ago

Google buys Motorola Mobility, not Motorola. The title should be corrected, as it's overly sensational now.

tptacek• 15 years ago

Doesn't this create a huge channel conflict with all the other phone hardware producers using Android?

schiptsov• 15 years ago

Nice move, really. Now it is time for Apple Samsung pair? ^_^

babar• 15 years ago

Everyone is focusing on mobile patents, but what impact does this have on the lawsuit with Oracle? Didn't Motorola have a Java license? Would that protect Google?

lugia• 15 years ago

I'm not against companies using Google flexible UI to innovate the interface but I strongly believe Android needs a good example of consistent user experience. Everything is just too fragmented right now. Just look at system icons alone in any Android phone, they are of million different styles.

With Motorola, Google should try its best to have a phone with everything thought out from hardware to software design.

Luyt• 15 years ago

esr has foreseen this: "This morning came the news that Google has agreed to buy Motorola Mobile for $12 billion. I was half-asleep when A&D regular Jay Maynard phoned me with a heads-up, but not surprised for a second; as I told him, I’ve been expecting this for weeks."

http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=3597

Apparently what counts are the patents:

"make no mistake: this purchase is all about Motorola’s patent portfolio. This is Google telling Apple and Microsoft and Oracle 'You want to play silly-buggers with junk patents? Bring it on; we’ll countersue you into oblivion.'"

esr envisions a rosy future for Android: "now that Google has shown it’s willing to fly cover for Android handset and tablet makers, likely there’ll be more of them signing on. This move will accelerate Android hardware down the price curve."

brudgers• 15 years ago

The Razor is still the favorite among the phones I've owned, and the StarTac is the only phone I ever truly lusted after, but I can't help feeling that this purchase turns Google into just another conglomerate. And without any intent at snark, the first thing this reminded me of was AOL - seven years ago it would have been brilliant, today the looks like a committee decided to take the "nobody ever gets fired for" approach. Google's mobile strategy just seems incoherent.

code_duck• 15 years ago

Holy wait, what?

I guess this means I will be buying a Motorola phone next time. I wasn't very happy with my Droid 2, overall but I do trust Google.

jsz02• 15 years ago

The thing I don't understand about this deal is if the patents are as valuable as Google claims why did they only pay (effectively) $9B for them? Motorola hasn't really been on the bleeding edge of cellular technology for about a decade. Going back to 2003 (at least) they've been using Qualcomm radios for example. In more modern times they are assembling someone else's radio, GPU and running someone else's OS. I'm sure they do have some valuable IP but given the low sale price I'm thinking it's getting seriously overstated. In a $150B/year SmartPhone industry that continues to grow how are these super valuable patents only worth $9B?

jdavid• 15 years ago

buying Palm for $1billion seems like a steal.

dillon• 15 years ago

Good for Google!!

walla• 15 years ago

The shroud of the Dark Side has fallen. Begun, the Patent War has!

Jayasimhan• 15 years ago

I think this would be one of the biggest bets in Larry's career.

payopepe• 15 years ago

Hay que tener dinero de sobras, no?

xedarius• 15 years ago

A companies identity is a peculiar thing. Remember not so long ago it was rumored that Microsoft was going to buy Nokia? People seemed to out of hand reject this as a bad move. Yet Google comes along (with arguably the same ambitions) and buys Motorola (makers of the 68000 probably the greatest chip ever created), and everyone seems to think it's a pretty good idea.

eurohacker• 15 years ago

if search engine starts to produce self-moving cars and mobile phones its time to worry how fair and balanced their search results will soon be,

search engine as a competitive advantage for a phone manufacturer ))

hessenwolf• 15 years ago

Before we laud Google's awesome engineering capacity too much, perhaps we can consider the fuck-awful interfaces for adwords and adsense... It's not without its weaknesses.

Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

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