Google's big bid for Motorola has called out the experts, pundits and analysts to debate the merits of the deal, as well as the possible outcomes. eWEEK tracks some of the buzz circulating on the Web.
Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) $12.5 billion blockbuster bid for
Motorola (NYSE:MMI) has certainly spurred a lot of water cooler talk
in the high-tech industry, with journalists, analysts and other pundits
debating the ramifications of this merger.
The search-engine
giant is positioning the deal as a way to help it defend its Android operating
system against the rampant litigation Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft
(NASDAQ:MSFT) have unleashed on Android OEMs, such as Motorola, Samsung and
HTC.
Ironically,
the move will also give Google Apple-like control over the entire smartphones
stack, from design and production of hardware, to development of the Android
platform and the various applications it builds for the OS.
One fringe
benefit could be a boost to the Google TV Web television business that has been
anything but booming, as the Android-based Google TV could be added to
Motorola's set-top boxes.
Andy Rubin,
Google senior vice president and Android creator, said he spoke to the top five
OEMs and assured them Android would remain open source. Yet some believe the
deal will also push Android OEMs to adopt Microsoft Windows Phone 7 or some
other platform because they feel Motorola will get preferential treatment under
the aegis of Google.
eWEEK has trolled
the Web and pored over some emailed research notes for some of the pearls wisdom
experts have been stringing since the deal was unveiled Aug. 15. Take a walk
with us through some of our favorites, starting with how some experts think
Android OEMs will or won't trust Google's latest plan to save Android from
being sued to obsolescence.
"The
Android platform is on its way to becoming the eventual leading OS in the
smartphone market due to its wide OEM support," noted ABI Research's Kevin
Burden. "Does the growing support change for Android now that Google will
be in direct competition with its licensees? Will the likes of Samsung, Huawei
or even HTC adjust their strategies by emphasizing a competing platform? How
will it affect Android future development? Android innovation relies on the
contributions of its licensees, does it all freeze while this settles, and how
well can RIM and HP capitalize on this opportunity?"
Well, if OEMs
go elsewhere, they will probably go to Windows Phone 7, as Nokia did before
them. This would weaken Android market share, certainly opening the door for
RIM and HP, as well as Microsoft.
"So where
does this leave the Asian OEMs HTC, Samsung and LG? If Microsoft passes on the
Nokia acquisition, this deal could throw Windows Mobile a temporary lifeline,"
wrote Forrester Research analyst John McCarthy.
"Forrester can hear Steve Ballmer and company pitching the Asian players
on how Microsoft is the only hardware-agnostic player left and that HTC,
Samsung and LG should increase their support for Windows Mobile as protection
against Google favoring its own hardware play."
Of course, not
everyone feels this way. Gleacher & Co. analyst Stephen Patel, who feels
getting Motorola will help level the intellectual property playing field in the
mobile sector, noted:
"We think
some vendors that may have considered hedging their Android smartphone bets
with a greater commitment to Windows Phone due to patent issues may now be less
likely to do so. On the margin, we view this as a negative for the WP
ecosystem."
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