Did Google fail?
This was the question on everyone's mind when Google announced its sale of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo in January 2014. Google entered and exited the hardware market in just a year and a half, with seemingly nothing to show for it.
However, as with everything related to the tech giant, there is more than meets the eye.
First, when selling Motorola Mobility, Google cleverly managed to maintain one of the most valuable pieces of the acquisition: Mobility's suite of mobile patents. An increased safety net from legal prosecution is a huge benefit for Google, especially considering how much the Android platform has been involved in intellectual property cases.
Second, through its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Google gained a great deal of leverage over one of its biggest partners, Samsung, which it will maintain after the acquisition. According to Forbes Magazine, in 2011, Samsung began to exploit its relationship with Google for its own benefit. It introduced "TouchWiz", a custom Samsung skin that hid all of Google's role in the operating system. Then, it began modifying the software and switching in its own applications, resulting in poorer performance and even less recognizability for Android. The last straw was when Samsung began to develop "Tizen", its own OS to compete against Android. When Google then purchased Motorola Mobility, the tables turned and the power was back in Google's favor. Fear of domination by Google-produced mobile devices scared Samsung into signing a 10 year patent deal with Google, which will strengthen the Android platform rather than weaken it. Two days later, Google sold Mobility to Lenovo.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2014/02/10/how-google-used-motorola-to-smack-down-samsung-twice/
This was the question on everyone's mind when Google announced its sale of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo in January 2014. Google entered and exited the hardware market in just a year and a half, with seemingly nothing to show for it.
However, as with everything related to the tech giant, there is more than meets the eye.
First, when selling Motorola Mobility, Google cleverly managed to maintain one of the most valuable pieces of the acquisition: Mobility's suite of mobile patents. An increased safety net from legal prosecution is a huge benefit for Google, especially considering how much the Android platform has been involved in intellectual property cases.
Second, through its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Google gained a great deal of leverage over one of its biggest partners, Samsung, which it will maintain after the acquisition. According to Forbes Magazine, in 2011, Samsung began to exploit its relationship with Google for its own benefit. It introduced "TouchWiz", a custom Samsung skin that hid all of Google's role in the operating system. Then, it began modifying the software and switching in its own applications, resulting in poorer performance and even less recognizability for Android. The last straw was when Samsung began to develop "Tizen", its own OS to compete against Android. When Google then purchased Motorola Mobility, the tables turned and the power was back in Google's favor. Fear of domination by Google-produced mobile devices scared Samsung into signing a 10 year patent deal with Google, which will strengthen the Android platform rather than weaken it. Two days later, Google sold Mobility to Lenovo.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2014/02/10/how-google-used-motorola-to-smack-down-samsung-twice/
You present the story in an engaging manner!
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