Google may alienate allies with Motorola deal
Google and Motorola Mobility will make for awkward dance partners to a room full of jilted companies uncomfortably eyeing the pair.
Remember the Nexus One? That was supposed to be the end of Google’s aspirations to get into the handset business. But not anymore.(Credit: James Martin/CNET)
While Google’s move to acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion is largely motivated by the need for more intellectual property, what’s been largely left unsaid is how the Internet giant will juggle the duo roles of principal architect of the Android software and now a competitor to its vendor partners.
Google said Motorola will continue to run as a separate unit. Which begs the question: will handset manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and HTC start viewing Google as a competitive threat?
“Any way (Google) tries to couch this, there’s no doubt Motorola is the most favored player,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst for Gartner. “If I’m a third-party vendor, I have some real concerns here.”
This can’t possibly be sitting well with HTC, Samsung and all the other Android device manufacturers. Google will soon find out that controlling the hardware gives them a huge advantage. We’ll see how even the playing field remains for the Android platform. After all the whining Google has done lately about other companies acquiring patents, this move seems quite hypocritical on their part.
