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It's baffling that Google sold off Motorola right when they finally have a pipeline of really nice competitive devices coming out. I wonder if it was competitiv
by guelo 12y ago
It's baffling that Google sold off Motorola right when they finally have a pipeline of really nice competitive devices coming out. I wonder if it was competitive worries from Samsung that got them to sell.
- enjo 12y agoI always figured that they just didn't really want to be in that business. It creates a conflict with the other phone manufacturers as well. From Google's point of view having a robust Android ecosystem is more important than building phones.
- briandh 12y agoShareholders didn't like them being in the lower-margin hardware business; other Android OEMs didn't like having them as a competitor. And all the "analysts" (for whatever their words are worth) are saying that even Samsung is/will be feeling the heat from Chinese handset makers -- such as Huawei, ZTE, Xiaomi, Coolpad and, not coincidentally, Lenovo.
- noir_lord 12y agoI think in part they achieved what they want to which was to accelerate what was available at the $200 price point. The other manufacturers while not a cartel where in no hurry to reduces pricess and the stuff available at point was horrible shit like the Orange San Francisco.
- Zigurd 12y agoBuying Moto was the biggest, costliest mistake Google ever made. Spend a lot. Annoy OEM partners. ???? Profit? These are nice devices, but so are Nexus, Google Play Edition, and Android One devices. Google does not lack for GTM routes for crapware-free, low-cost Androids.
- nkozyra 12y agoI'm not sure how you could make an evaluation like this without knowing the scope of the patents they kept, which by all accounts was the reason for the acquisition in the first place.
- Zigurd 12y agoAfter they bought Moto, the patent wars raged on. The value of the patents is by now evident. Even after the patents and real estate and spin-outs of the STB and other non-mobile OEM businesses, Google lost billions of dollars and spent 10s of man years of senior management attention on restructuring Moto and preventing Moto's stodgy, risk averse telecom industry employees from infecting Google. Moto is a far better company now, but also a much smaller and lower-value company. One could also say buying Nokia was Microsoft's biggest brain fart. Google has managed to clean house faster.
- judk 12y ago$1B to solve Google's phone patent problems and give Moto a little steroid injection in their Android efforts.