Google building firewall between Android and Motorola | Hacker News Reader

Google building firewall between Android and Motorola

theverge.com

33 pointsmalay14 comments

Any internal firewall is a joke. In the investment world, there is a legally mandated firewall between the analysts and the pitchmen. Yet that never stopped analysts from giving suspiciously positive reviews of stocks their bank was interested in selling. The firewall between the Android team and Motorola isn't even as strong as the internal firewall in investment banks. It's simply a fig leaf to cover Google's entry into hardware manufacturing.

Now, whether that entry is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be decided. However, I don't think it's in anyone's interest to pretend that there will be no information exchange between the Android team and Motorola Mobility. If Google was really interested in maintaining separation between Motorola and the Android team, they would have declined to purchase Motorola.

Do you think the fig leaf is there for regulators or the other Android hardware manufacturers? While I agree there is no legally binding firewall (simply self-imposed), it seems there are some concerns they are attempting to address publicly.

I find Google's comments disturbing because the idea of a firewall means they have no intention of integrating Motorola. This would essentially limit any synergy between the two companies and turns this into a huge patent acquisition that comes with a side of distraction. If I was an investor, I would hope your theory of this being a complete joke is accurate since it entirely changes the lens on the transaction.

So Google's going to let Moto continue their losing strategy while Samsung and HTC reduce their investment in Android. And they're rapidly losing karma on the patent front as well. What's the upside of this acquisition?

No. Once the acquisition is fully approved and Google has the reins massive layoffs will come for (a much needed) housecleaning. At that stage Google will align the mobile strategy with whatever direction they think is the winner (I don't know if they know what this is yet).

Yet, note that Motorola != mobile phone, a huge part of Motorola Mobility does cable set to boxes and has a virtual monopoly on devices used by cable operators in their backends. (If it's clever) Google may use this as the launchpad for the upcoming TV war with Apple.

But what if the winning direction is tight integration with Android? They just took that option off the table.

Notice that they clearly state that the firewall is between the "Android team" and Motorola. Just because the android team and the moto team aren't talking doesn't mean there isn't strategy being driven down from the top to point them in a better, more complimenting direction.

Also, with Google's AR glasses and products like the MOTOACTV one can begin to see how having a hardware arm could prove extremely beneficial.

Most of the verge commenters seem disappointed at the news. Most of hacker news commenters seem delighted at the news.

Seems like consumers trust Google a lot more than hackers.

Is it really a question of trust? Google go off the rails and the other manufacturers get together to fork android or stop using it. Consumers continue to not care.

The only way a good outcome can come from this acquisition is if Google go full-tilt with Motorola instead of this weird half-hand approach.

"They're going to continue building Motorola branded devices and it's going to be the same team doing it."

Too bad. My Droid RAZR suffers from all the crapware added by Motorola and/or Verizon. I'm sick of being asked if I would like to use VZNavigator instead of Google Maps. My personal hope for the acquisition is that someone at Google would tell them to stop making their phones suck so they could squeeze out a few additional pennies from each customer. From Google's standpoint, not shipping a product which maximizes customer happiness is penny-wise and pound foolish.

That sort of crapware has nothing to do with Motorola, it's mandated by carriers. The only phones that don't have it are the phones Google sells/gives away, which the carriers don't really carry too much about.

Now Moto does add crapware of its own in the form of specialized skin called Blur, but again this is common, each Android phone producer has their own version of specialized skin.

Like the crapware that carriers mandate on the iPhone?

In fairness, the carriers can't say to Apple "fine, we'll just carry this other iOS device from another company willing to load it up with crapware". They can with Android.

Could Motorola be Google's go to device maker if Samsung starts to forge (or fork Android) its own OS path?

Also as a backup plan/insurance policy?

Its really great to see Google living up to their promise.

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