Ric Romero works for cnet now?

Google didn't buy Motorola, they are attempting to purchase the Moto Mobility division.

Random Anonymous Blackmail: Google didn't buy Motorola, they are attempting to purchase the Moto Mobility division.

Mobility isn't a division, it's a separate company. MMI (Motorola Mobility) and MSI (Motorola Solutions) trade as two separate companies. MMI licenses the Motorola trademark from MSI.

...and Google is buying all of MMI, which includes Handsets (phones), Cable Modems, Cable Set-Top Boxes, DSL Modems, etc. etc.

I mean, didn't google say as much the moment they made the deal?

Jonathan Hohensee: I mean, didn't google say as much the moment they made the deal?

Half and half. They admitted to wanting the IP, but also paid a lot of lip service to "synergies" with the Handset and Cablebox teams...

There's also the issue that Motorola's smartphones actually work as phones, unlike anything else on the market. The people there understand how cell phone technology works.

That's the one thing I miss since switching from a Motorola smartphone to an iPhone.

Herbie555: ...and Google is buying all of MMI, which includes Handsets (phones), Cable Modems, Cable Set-Top Boxes, DSL Modems, etc. etc.

Leaving motorola with what, motors?

AcneVulgaris: Herbie555: ...and Google is buying all of MMI, which includes Handsets (phones), Cable Modems, Cable Set-Top Boxes, DSL Modems, etc. etc.

Leaving motorola with what, motors?

The other company Motorola Solutions (MSI) is the company that makes/sells stuff like Police radios, back-end equipment, industrial gear like Barcode scanners (formerly Symbol Tech.) and general infrastructure equipment that's not sold to end-consumers.

The patents are really just a secondary benefit to the main goal, one which seems beyond the comprehension of the press.

Step one was to get the existing, entrenched telcos to invest heavily in traditional spectrum. Remember that auction where Google bid things through the roof? (new window)

Step two? Get behind another technology that allows for a new player to jump in and compete, the way that the trucking industry competed with the railroads. That'd be Whitespace.

Google is lobbying very hard for Whitespace - 802.22. They're doing Whitespace trials. They're all set to be a database provider, as mandated by the FCC, to enable Whitespace access. Oh, and the whole database thing was their proposal, and capitalizes on their existing mapping technology.

This is all public knowledge. Google has been pretty communicative about their intentions. (new window)

In short, Google is going to come out of left field and, one day, become an ISP/Telco hybrid. High-speed wireless data everywhere, tho - no voice services. They have Google Voice, after all.

But see, consumers won't go for that unless there's a selection of devices ready to go. And handset manufacturers won't jump in until the consumers do. Chicken and egg and all that.

So, in short, Google bought an egg that had the added bonus of being filled with delicious intellectual property. Just in time for the FCC to give it's final blessing and certification for the new spectrum, which should happen by next year.

Herbie555: AcneVulgaris: Herbie555: ...and Google is buying all of MMI, which includes Handsets (phones), Cable Modems, Cable Set-Top Boxes, DSL Modems, etc. etc.

Leaving motorola with what, motors?

The other company Motorola Solutions (MSI) is the company that makes/sells stuff like Police radios, back-end equipment, industrial gear like Barcode scanners (formerly Symbol Tech.) and general infrastructure equipment that's not sold to end-consumers.

All the high margin stuff without the consumer headaches. I can see why they split it up.

jonnyh: The patents are really just a secondary benefit to the main goal, one which seems beyond the comprehension of the press.

Step one was to get the existing, entrenched telcos to invest heavily in traditional spectrum. Remember that auction where Google bid things through the roof? (new window)

Step two? Get behind another technology that allows for a new player to jump in and compete, the way that the trucking industry competed with the railroads. That'd be Whitespace.

Google is lobbying very hard for Whitespace - 802.22. They're doing Whitespace trials. They're all set to be a database provider, as mandated by the FCC, to enable Whitespace access. Oh, and the whole database thing was their proposal, and capitalizes on their existing mapping technology.

This is all public knowledge. Google has been pretty communicative about their intentions. (new window)

In short, Google is going to come out of left field and, one day, become an ISP/Telco hybrid. High-speed wireless data everywhere, tho - no voice services. They have Google Voice, after all.

But see, consumers won't go for that unless there's a selection of devices ready to go. And handset manufacturers won't jump in until the consumers do. Chicken and egg and all that.

So, in short, Google bought an egg that had the added bonus of being filled with delicious intellectual property. Just in time for the FCC to give it's final blessing and certification for the new spectrum, which should happen by next year.

Doesn't Google own large amounts of dark fiber?

They finally got a copy of Wired from two months ago I see.

jm105: Doesn't Google own large amounts of dark fiber?

They do. In fact, there was an article in Wired a ways back about how Google essentially pays nothing for bandwidth.

Seems like it'd be very useful if you wanted to start up a Whitespace ISP.

jonnyh: jm105: Doesn't Google own large amounts of dark fiber?

They do. In fact, there was an article in Wired a ways back about how Google essentially pays nothing for bandwidth.

Seems like it'd be very useful if you wanted to start up a Whitespace ISP.

My phone contract is up next year, also about the time AT&T should get approval to gut T-Mobile. I will be watching with interest.

If you got it and you want it...buy it.

NTTAWWT

/geez, does everything have to be original? I mean, sometimes you want to just chill and drink a beer, not recreate the wheel.

Sergey Brin is the new Cave Johnson.

"We're not just bangin' rocks together over here!"

I think that at some point Google will spin off most of MMI. They will keep one factory (to make prototypes and small scale experimental consumer products and stuff for their internal use) and all the patents, spinning off the bit that makes large scale production of phones.

Geotpf: I think that at some point Google will spin off most of MMI. They will keep one factory (to make prototypes and small scale experimental consumer products and stuff for their internal use) and all the patents, spinning off the bit that makes large scale production of phones.

I think you're partly right, but on a smaller scale. Don't get wrapped up in the factory thing. Like most device companies these days, Motorola doesn't have much in the way of it's own factories - it contracts out to whomever will build the box the cheapest. I DO believe that Google will keep the handset business as they've already convinced the other Android partners that they won't be left out and it does give them a "launch" platform for new Android stuff.

More likely is that they spin off the parts that don't have good "synergies". MMI makes a lot of the end-to-end video equipment that is used by cablecos to deliver QAM video, etc. to the curb (stuff like encoders, out-of-band modulators, etc.). Similarly there are groups that do a lot of software for operator's provisioning/managing the customer-equipment in a DSL ecosystem. Those groups have absolutely no appeal to the google business model, but are, by themselves, a valuable business (and often times used to be standalone companies that were acquired by Motorola during a period of horizontal integration). Since they're profitable, it doesn't make sense to close those groups outright, but it doesn't make sense for google to "be" in that business either, so those are good candidates for spin/sell off.