STEVE BALMER MAY BE LOOKIN GOOD!
Google sold Motorola to Lenovo for $2.9B The deal marks one of the worst investments in Google’s history. In 2012, Google completed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. At the time, it was thought that the primary reason for the acquisition was the treasure trove of Motorola patents that would help Google defend it and its partners against Apple. The loss now is over $10 billion, a huge part of Google’s cash hoard!
The patents, however, have proven to be less than effective in warding off lawsuits, and much of the legal fighting has gone on between Apple and Samsung, with Google only tangentially related. Google and Samsung recently signed their own cross-licensing pact.
Of course the $10 billion is an underestimate of what Google has lost . Presumably this means the virtual company is going to stay out of the physical phone business .. leaving more turf to Microsoft (a long time Lenovo partner) and the “physical” manufacturers that make android phones. I expect that Samsung is really happy since this means Google is not going to compete the way Apple does. As for Microsoft, if Lenovo gets serious about making Windows phones that work with tis Windows laptops ..Apple is going to have to rethink its strategies for two OSs .. one for its tablets and phones and one for its tablets.