Google: We Bought Motorola "For More than Just Patents"
Google surprised the entire tech universe when it announced plans to acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion, and once shock of the news started to wear off, the general consensus was that Google made the move to beef up its patent portfolio. Suddenly the multi-billion dollar acquisition made sense. Sure, $12.5 billion is a ton of cash upfront, but it's also an investment into Google's Android IP against mounting lawsuits. But that isn't the only reason Google did it.
"We did it for more than just patents," Google's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, said at a conference in San Francisco last week, according to International Business Times. "We actually believe that the Motorola team has some amazing products coming... We're excited to have the product line, to use the Motorola brand, the product architecture, the engineers. These guys invented the RAZR. We know them well they're Google Apps users... [We like] having at least one area where we can do integrated hardware and software."
Schmidt didn't deny that patents played a role in Google's decision to buy Motorola, and that the acquisition would help the company and its partners mount a legal defense against rivals like Apple and Microsoft. But it was also motivated by hardware, and that scares the hell out of some people.
Outwardly, companies like Samsung and HTC have offered up words of praise, but behind the scenes, analysts believe Google's partners fear a future in which Google might push out new Android builds to Motorola first.
"We did it for more than just patents," Google's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, said at a conference in San Francisco last week, according to International Business Times. "We actually believe that the Motorola team has some amazing products coming... We're excited to have the product line, to use the Motorola brand, the product architecture, the engineers. These guys invented the RAZR. We know them well they're Google Apps users... [We like] having at least one area where we can do integrated hardware and software."
Schmidt didn't deny that patents played a role in Google's decision to buy Motorola, and that the acquisition would help the company and its partners mount a legal defense against rivals like Apple and Microsoft. But it was also motivated by hardware, and that scares the hell out of some people.
Outwardly, companies like Samsung and HTC have offered up words of praise, but behind the scenes, analysts believe Google's partners fear a future in which Google might push out new Android builds to Motorola first.
