Google to buy Motorola Mobility

• Jawbreaker

  http://allthingsd.com/20110815/gulp-google-buying-motorola-mobility-for-12-5-billion/
  
  Now this should make things really interesting.
• Scarlet_Buckeye

  

  Jawbreaker;862687 wrote:http://allthingsd.com/20110815/gulp-google-buying-motorola-mobility-for-12-5-billion/
  
  Now this should make things really interesting.

  
  What exactly does this mean? Google will now *officially* be one of the main wireless providers (ala Verizon, AT&T, etc.)? If so... that could be very exciting for the world of mobile telecommunications. #LookOutVerizon
• Jawbreaker

  Scarlet_Buckeye;862693 wrote:What exactly does this mean? Google will now *officially* be one of the main wireless providers (ala Verizon, AT&T, etc.)? If so... that could be very exciting for the world of mobile telecommunications. #LookOutVerizon

  I think it means they purchased their mobility unit (i.e. Phones). Having in house design and software together could make for some very nice phones in the future. Also, they will own Motorola's patent portfolio which should be good for Android.
• OneBuckeye

  

  Google is aligning moving from software only to hardware. Huge move. Could lead to buying a google computers, mp3 players tablets etc. I would say #lookoutMicrosoft
• sherm03

  

  In the long run, this could mean great things.
  
  In the short term, I hope I still have a job in the near future.
• justincredible

  

  I wonder if this has any effect on non-Motorola hardware running android going forward?
• OneBuckeye

  

  justincredible;862717 wrote:I wonder if this has any effect on non-Motorola hardware running android going forward?

  
  They could definately turn into an apple type company in that way. I think it could be good because you have a lot of crappy android phones out there and only a few good ones.
• Jawbreaker

  justincredible;862717 wrote:I wonder if this has any effect on non-Motorola hardware running android going forward?

  
  I think they will keep android open and will use Motorola going forward as their reference design company (Nexus lineup). It is amazing the track that Motorola has taken over the years. They were almost dead not long ago.
• dlazz

  No offense to everyone in this thread, but it seems like Google is protecting themselves against Patent lawsuits. They gained several thousand over this acquisition.
  
  If anything, Google was looking for a dedicated company to push out "vanilla" android phones. I think they had to contract out to get the Nexus phones they have now.
  
  Samsung's CEO came out and applauded the move. I doubt much will change on the Android front. If anything, the other Android makers should be happy.
• justincredible

  

  dlazz;862842 wrote:No offense to everyone in this thread

  
  I'm offended.
• dlazz

  Nobody cares about you though.
• sherm03

  

  This buy out should make the Blur haters happy. I can't see Blur being on any Motorola device going forward if Google is in control.
• Jawbreaker

  sherm03;862912 wrote:This buy out should make the Blur haters happy. I can't see Blur being on any Motorola device going forward if Google is in control.

  
  Yes and no...I understand why Moto started to develop blur. In a market saturated with devices you have to differentiate yourself. Even though I don't care for Blur or Sense, there are a lot of users that do like the added features. I think HTC has done a better job with their skin than Motorola but they have been doing it for years with WinMo products. Putting out vanilla phones might not catch the consumer's eye.
  
  dlazz is right, a major reason for this sale is for the patents, or at least that is what Google is telling all their partners.
• dlazz

  Jawbreaker;862964 wrote:Putting out vanilla phones might not catch the consumer's eye.

  
  Maybe not, but Motorola should've given the option to users to disable that crap. On their latest phones, it's built into the kernel so you can't even hack it out of the phone...you just have to deal with it.
  
  The problem I have with Blur is that it doesn't build on functionality that already exists in Android. It just duplicates it, and it's really quite unnecessary.
• Jawbreaker

  dlazz;862970 wrote:Maybe not, but Motorola should've given the option to users to disable that crap. On their latest phones, it's built into the kernel so you can't even hack it out of the phone...you just have to deal with it.
  
  The problem I have with Blur is that it doesn't build on functionality that already exists in Android. It just duplicates it, and it's really quite unnecessary.

  
  
  I won't disagree with that. I think, to a point, the same can be said about HTC Sense. That is why I run Cyanogenmod. However, I am not the normal consumer, and I am only going by what other consumers have said about these products.
• hoops23

  

  Chromebook and Ice Cream