Google to acquire Motorola Mobility

jannievanzyl said:
Seems I might need to bring my prediction, that the handset manufacturers will have fragmented Android in 5 years time, forward.

It was based on the fact that every manufacturer, using the same 'open' operating system, will have to differentiate itself to stay competitive and this can only be done by extending the OS, potentially to the point where it requires multiple development cycles for app developers.

This acquisition destabilizes this even more. Google, itself, is now a handset vendor and will be sorely tempted to favor Motorola This will seriously dent the confidence of other manufacturers to put all their eggs in the Android basket.

What would you do if you were Samsung, LG or even HTC, potentially playing second fiddle to Motorola?

As Motorola, what would you do now that you 'own' Android?
Click to expand...

Good point(s). So, who would then benefit from this moto-"foolish" move by Google, the 2 fruits (Apple and Mango) ?
Put a limb out, give us your WP7 predictions Jannie (only if you actually used a WP7 yet) !
 
Last edited:
jannievanzyl said:
Seems I might need to bring my prediction, that the handset manufacturers will have fragmented Android in 5 years time, forward.

It was based on the fact that every manufacturer, using the same 'open' operating system, will have to differentiate itself to stay competitive and this can only be done by extending the OS, potentially to the point where it requires multiple development cycles for app developers.

This acquisition destabilizes this even more. Google, itself, is now a handset vendor and will be sorely tempted to favor Motorola This will seriously dent the confidence of other manufacturers to put all their eggs in the Android basket.

What would you do if you were Samsung, LG or even HTC, potentially playing second fiddle to Motorola?

As Motorola, what would you do now that you 'own' Android?
Click to expand...

People would vote against this with their wallets causing the fragmentation to stop. The people just wont buy a it, they dont like phones that doesn't have a huge application pool to work with. just look at how slow all new Mobile OS's are, even Windows Phone 7 with many manufacturers suffers from this.

As for your comparison to Windows being the only independent OS out, dont make me laugh, Nokia is the only OEM that has access to Windows Phone code, all the others play second fiddle, so much so that most of them complained about this deal. In Android world all the members of the OHA have access to the source code and are allowed to add code to the repo.

Motorola already had primary Android releases in the from of Xoom with Honeycomb, worst thing that can happen is that all future Nexus phones come out of Motorola only. If we look at the actual Nexus(Google Phones) sales and the OEM phones from the same manufacturer that followed it, users prefered the OEM phones. Only the developers sided with the Nexus range.

HTC Nexus vs HTC Desire - Desire sold more
Nexus S vs Samsung Galaxy S2 - The SGS2 out sells it

You trying to attach closed source predictions to a open source model it just dont work that way.
 
Last edited:
Joe Average said:
Good point(s). So, who would then benefit from this moto-"foolish" move by Google, the 2 fruits (Apple and Mango).
Click to expand...
I would venture Google themselves will be the eventual winners if their intention is to initially use the 'openness' of Android to win market share and then to move all those users to their Eco-system. For that must be the long-term plan, build a closed Eco-system to fully lock a customer in. Look how well Apple did it.

There's an old saying in the industry "Sell open, supply closed". Gets consumers every time.
 
jannievanzyl said:
I would venture Google themselves will be the eventual winners if their intention is to initially use the 'openness' of Android to win market share and then to move all those users to their Eco-system. For that must be the long-term plan, build a closed Eco-system to fully lock a customer in. Look how well Apple did it.

There's an old saying in the industry "Sell open, supply closed". Gets consumers every time.
Click to expand...

And by your answer I assume you have not used WP7 (or soon even 7.5) yet ?
 
Joe Average said:
And by your answer I assume you have not used WP7 (or soon even 7.5) yet ?
Click to expand...

Apologies, were running out the door when I responded and forgot the second bit...:)

Compared to the old Windows mobile environment anything is an improvement but, in reality, the new OS is extremely good and a contender.

But Microsoft still face an uphill battle to 1) win back the minds and loyalties of consumers and 2) to build a holistic Eco-system. I keep on hammering on the Eco-system bit, but that really is what people are after, a "one-stop-shop".

The Nokia thing is huge for MS and, if it works, will ensure the OS becomes a big player. Watch MS buying Nokia soon. ;)
 
I also expect more aggression from MS re Nokia. Some analysts however say that such a purchase would play into the hands of Google as it would place pressure on Samsung et al to stay on the Android path.
 
To me RIM is the interesting player. While the other dogs fight they might walk away with the bone?
 
ocleroux said:
I thought they have...or was that just a agreement for Nokia to use WP7?

Ek dink ek het die kat nou lekker aan die stert beet :-)
Click to expand...

Not yet. Nokia is still on its own in theory but in practice it's not as clear-cut. MS for all practical purposes dictates what Nokia will do, but they don't own the company yet. May not be in their best interest to own it. RIM would make a better full acquisition as it is not competing with WP OEM's.
 
BeVonk! said:
Not yet. Nokia is still on its own in theory but in practice it's not as clear-cut. MS for all practical purposes dictates what Nokia will do, but they don't own the company yet. May not be in their best interest to own it. RIM would make a better full acquisition as it is not competing with WP OEM's.
Click to expand...

That is part of the problem:
The US Department of Justice wont allow someone like Apple, Microsoft or even Android to buy and kill RIM so it will not happen. Its also part of the reason Nokia and Microsoft have an agreement and not a buyout like the Google-Motorola deal. Nokia has their own OS as well.

In order for them to be bought out Nokia has to kill all the other OS's outright. I suspect this is part of the plan, that is why Meego and Symbian are slowly being strangled to death.

Motorola Mobile only had Android phones on the market so Google is not killing any OS competition in buying the company, still I would like to see if the DOJ will allow the deal to go through.
 
Two forces are hovering on the fringes that will have an impact on where all of this is going: Facebook and Amazon. Amazon's forthcoming tablet will run Android, but the Moto deal might just force a change of mind. Facebook wants to play on all the platforms (for obvious reasons) but has been itching to become a bigger player.

Where does this leave HP? I can't see them going anywhere in this industry unless they make a super sleek move. HP buying RIM would be such a move.
 
BeVonk! said:
Two forces are hovering on the fringes that will have an impact on where all of this is going: Facebook and Amazon. Amazon's forthcoming tablet will run Android, but the Moto deal might just force a change of mind. Facebook wants to play on all the platforms (for obvious reasons) but has been itching to become a bigger player.

Where does this leave HP? I can't see them going anywhere in this industry unless they make a super sleek move. HP buying RIM would be such a move.
Click to expand...

Again DOJ will go nuts, HP has their own OS.
 
Elimentals, the authorities that must approve these deals don't care about the OS and tech involved but about the legalities of ensuring fair competition. HP buying RIM wouldn't stop Apple, Google and MS from competing ... so I see no problem from that perspective.
 
RIM would bring a lot of valuable patents to HP and it is at a stage where HP could either scrap QNX or PalmOS. Both OS's are not that well established in the market that it cannot be ditched in favour of the other.
 
BeVonk! said:
Elimentals, the authorities that must approve these deals don't care about the OS and tech involved but about the legalities of ensuring fair competition. HP buying RIM wouldn't stop Apple, Google and MS from competing ... so I see no problem from that perspective.
Click to expand...

That is the thing, ensure competition. If you kill off an OS you are limiting competition. It can be argued that HP only want to buy RIM to better its own OS thereby killing RIM as an competitor. If RIM on their own decide to partner up with HP and they join forces it will be allowed.
 
The Canadian Gov would throw a fit if RIM were bought but if RIM cannot compete any more and will be knocked-over they will have no choice. They can then only demand guarantees that most of RIM (infrastructure and staff) will remain in Canada.
 
Elimentals said:
That is the thing, ensure competition. If you kill off an OS you are limiting competition. It can be argued that HP only want to buy RIM to better its own OS thereby killing RIM as an competitor. If RIM on their own decide to partner up with HP and they join forces it will be allowed.
Click to expand...

Competition get killed every day. I would argue that it is better for competition in this industry if HP and RIM were to form a strong front together than it would be if one or both of these companies were forced to exit the market. I can see such a bond to be approved as it will make for better alternatives.
 
BeVonk! said:
The Canadian Gov would throw a fit if RIM were bought but if RIM cannot compete any more and will be knocked-over they will have no choice. They can then only demand guarantees that most of RIM (infrastructure and staff) will remain in Canada.
Click to expand...

Or it could go the Nortel way. Nortel was a Canadian company that went belly up. if that happens they can split up the Assets and be sold to the highest bidder. RIM is still in the black so that wont happen soon.
 
There is place for Android + iOS + WP + one other. The "one other" will have to be a combination from whatever is already out there. Better for RIM and HP to join forces with one OS than a fragmented bunch of alternatives that will never be able to capture enough market share on their own.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X