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Zeichick's Take: Google to buy Motorola Mobility – it may be a patent play

By Alan Zeichick

August 15, 2011 — (Page 1 of 3)
Google – the company behind Android – is buying Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 billion.

Motorola, a U.S.-based telecommunications infrastructure equipment maker formed in the 1930s, spun off its Mobility handset subsidiary in January 2011. Perhaps the Google deal was in the cards all along. In any case, here are my first three thoughts upon hearing about the pending acquisition this morning.

1. The Android platform will become more like the iPhone platform.

Apple’s iOS runs only on Apple’s hardware, and the company ties its hardware and software releases together. The benefit to consumers and developers is, of course, that the hardware and software work together as an integrated and seamless entity. The downside is that if you want an iOS-based device, you have few choices in form factor, features and functionality. It’s Apple’s way or the highway.

Android goes the other way: Google creates the operating system, but it’s up to the handset/tablet makers to adapt that software to fit their hardware. Despite everyone’s best efforts, the experience is not as seamless as you find with iOS; it’s always a compromise.

In the past, Google has designed and sold a few handsets, but they’ve been little more than glorified reference platforms. With the Motorola Mobility deal, however, Google can make sure that future devices from that company are 100% in tune with Android features (and vice-verse). This should result in a better experience on those devices, giving Apple more of a run for its money.

Note that with the Motorola Xoom tablet, we already saw Google willing to bend the rules – the version of Android released for the Xoom was not as open as previous versions of Android.

Related Search Term(s): Google, Android, Motorola, Apple, iOS, smartphone

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