A Supercharged Android Ecosystem

Google's CEO Larry page announced today that the company has made its first significant hardware acquisition; the purchase of Motorola for the sum of $12.5 billion.  Naturally they paid cash.

At the time of this purchase Google has more than 150 million Android devices worldwide and each day another 550,000 devices are added through a network of about 39 manufacturers and 231 carriers in 123 countries.

While some may be worried that Google's commitment to running Android as an open platform might waiver, Larry page has reiterated that. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open.

The purchase price also represents something of a coup for Motorola shareholders who were paid a premium of 63% n the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares last Friday, August 12, 2011.  Motorola hasn't been faring so well in recent years with only 3% market share.

One wonders what this purchase means for Google's current partners, HTC and Samsung in the long term?

Motorola's  hundreds of patents (24,5000 of them) add additional value as Larry Page acknowledges in his announcement:

"We recently explained how companies including Microsoft and Apple are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android. The U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene in the results of one recent patent auction to “protect competition and innovation in the open source software community” and it is currently looking into the results of the Nortel auction. Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies"

What Google Got For Its Money

There is another side to this purchase. Gigacom reports that if Google hadn't made the purchase they would have been in an even greater patent hole.

"Our sources say that Motorola was in acquisition talks with several parties, including Microsoft for quite some time. Microsoft was interested in acquiring Motorola’s patent portfolio that would have allowed it to torpedo Android even further. The possibility of that deal brought Google to the negotiation table, resulting in the blockbuster sale."

Make Me An Offer

A Groupon by any other name still smells as sweet.  Now one of the Web's biggest players is taking on the market leader and with its huge resources it should be an interesting battle.

With new CEO Larry Page at the helm we should see more passion and slightly less arrogance from Google and even more inspired innovation.

When Google's recent $6 billion bid for Groupon spluttered to a halt folks wondered what would be next.  Well now we know.

According to a report in Mashable Google Offers is the new kid on the discount coupon block.  Google's own fact sheet send to businesses claims that " Google Offers is a new product to help potential customers and clientele find great deals in their area through a daily email”
Google Offers Fact Sheet



The daily deal competitve lanscape is becoming increasingly crowded and it will be interesting to see what impact Google's announcement has on Groupon's recently announced $15billion IPO?

Google has also responded to Mashable when asked for confirmation about their Offers trial:

“Google is communicating with small businesses to enlist their support and participation in a test of a pre-paid offers/vouchers program. This initiative is part of an ongoing effort at Google to make new products, such as the recent Offer Ads beta, that connect businesses with customers in new ways. We do not have more details to share at this time, but will keep you posted.”

And so shall we.

Related articles

• Google readies Groupon competitor (news.cnet.com)
• Google Set to Deal Groupon Some Competition with 'Offers' (marketingpilgrim.com)