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Android OEMs should hear Microsoft, Nokia out on Google-Motorola combo (ars technica)

Android OEMs should hear Microsoft, Nokia out on Google-Motorola combo (ars technica)

Posted Aug 19, 2011 21:47 UTC (Fri) by ian00 (guest, #55476)
In reply to: Android OEMs should hear Microsoft, Nokia out on Google-Motorola combo (ars technica) by beast
Parent article: Android OEMs should hear Microsoft, Nokia out on Google-Motorola combo (ars technica)

"A desire to design devices does not indicate a desire to compete with Android OEMs in the mass market." Um, no. Motorola's main business IS competing with OEMs in the mass market, so by definition of Google buying Motorola, Google wants to do that, but they claim to want to do it in a way that is fair to other OEMs.

"Google can avoid conflict with their partners by turning Motorola into a creator of Android reference platforms." "Creator" is ambiguous, and this does not really alleviate any of the concerns raised in the article. If the Motorola business controlled or designed the reference platforms for Android, that is serious potential for competitive advantage.


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Android OEMs should hear Microsoft, Nokia out on Google-Motorola combo (ars technica)

Posted Aug 19, 2011 23:23 UTC (Fri) by Kluge (guest, #2881) [Link]

While it's impossible to know how this will affect Google's relationship with other Android OEMs, I think the most likely (and sufficient) reason for Google to buy Motorola is to acquire patents to fend off lawsuits from Apple, MS, etc.

My understanding of Google's interest in promoting Android was to ensure their penetration into the mobile sector. Without some leverage, they might have have been squeezed out (or taxed) as a service and content provider by the platform companies.

I suspect Google knows (particularly given the lackluster success of its own mobile hardware) that a robust ecosystem of OEMs is necessary for Android's continued success.

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