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After reading through the articles I've seen so far on this, and looking at the information provided I still do not believe that Google will have to worry about
by orillian 15y ago
After reading through the articles I've seen so far on this, and looking at the information provided I still do not believe that Google will have to worry about the patents in the Nortel package as much as some are saying. People seem to be forgetting that Google’s Android is software, and the bulk of the Nortel package is hardware related. I'm thinking that Android handset manufacturers have more to worry about considering the types of technologies that are being represented in the Nortel package.
That said, as a group they could severely hinder continued success for Microsoft, one of the top spenders from the consortium, which also requires their handsets to continue to sell its Win7 phones. If the total cost of patent royalty cost gets too high they could simply stop supplying Microsoft with phones to put its OS onto.
If I was a handset manufacturer I’d side with Google simply based on the numbers. Samsung and Motorola have fairly large stakes in the continued success of Android handsets with LG and HTC not far behind.
On a side note how many people have realized that Nortel seems to have just made a bunch of money? I’m basing my numbers on loose numbers that I’ve seen so correct me if I’m wrong, but Nortel was $5.8bln in debt, raise $2.8bln in previous asset sales, and now just made another $4.5bln. That looks to me like a $1.5bln they gain after recouping their debt.
- Lewisham 15y agoI don't think acquiring the patent portfolio had much to do with patents Google actually needed. The idea was just to hold onto enough patents that you could threaten other people when they come for you. This is what Sun used to do.
- orillian 15y agoGoogle is DOOMED now that the others have access to these patents seems to be the big headline, but I do not see that being the case unless Google tries to move in areas covered by the Nortel patents. So while Google did not get these patents that as it stands seem to be unrelated to current Google activities, they did help force the others to pay a premium for them. It looks like they may have helped Nortel gain enough that the company might in fact be able to start anew. $1.5bln in seed money is pretty decent, as long as that does not get liquidated to investors. Interesting none the less.
- protomyth 15y agoThe headlines are of course exaggerations to sell ads, but LTE is the next step and Android just got a bit more expensive to use. The question is does this reduce the profit for handset manufactures to a point where other OS options are more profitable.
- dataminer 15y agoWhat I don't understand is why Google was interested in LTE patents? LTE patents are hardware patents and any phone manufacturer will use a chip from a vendor who has licensed these technologies. Google should buy Synaptics, Elan Microelectornics etc. which have patents in touch. $4bn can buy lots of patents, Google has to be smart and selective in building their patent war chest to defend Android.
- cageface 15y agoMicrosoft's strategy so far seems to be to choke the air out of Android by going after the handset vendors and not Google itself. If they can use the Nortel patents to further this strategy then they could seriously hinder Android's growth by making it too expensive for handset makers to continue to sell Android phones. Personally I find this collective ganging-up on a disruptive newcomer while shrieking about the sanctity of "innovation" to be one of the most disgustingly disingenuous tactics I've seen in 13 years of working in software. Neither Microsoft nor Apple would be in business today if they hadn't copied their competitors outright and Google is bringing at least as much real innovation to the mobile marketplace as they are. Witness the wholesale appropriation in iOS 5 of Android's superior notification system, for instance.