Chantel Tode at Mobile Marketer looks at the question - Will Google, Motorola deal disrupt the OEM landscape?
While Google executives said this week that Android handset manufacturers will be treated equally even though the company is acquiring Motorola, the possibility remains that OEMs will take a closer look at other operating systems.
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While offering Android as an open system at little or no cost to license has been an important factor in its growth, the deal withMotorola points to the success of the Apple formula of owning the entire mobile experience.
“The most successful players in the smartphone market have been those who control the entire experience – from platform, to hardware to services,” said Kevin Burden, vice president and practice director for mobile devices at ABI Research, New York.
“Only Microsoft remains as the only mobile platform provider without direct ownership of a hardware arm that designs and produces mobile phones,” he said.
Buying a handset manufacturer gives Google a similar degree of control over Android that Apple has with iOS.
Conceivably, the deal with Motorola means that Android will now go into smartphones that bear Google’s own seal of approval and can be marketed as the gold standard for Android, per Mr. Burden.
While Google says it will continue to treat other handset manufacturers equally despite having acquired Motorola, there are advantages to be gained from Google and Motorola working together in some areas.
Head over to Mobile Marketer for the full analysis.
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