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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Seems like consumers trust Google a lot more than hackers.
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.
Also as a backup plan/insurance policy?
