It has been announced that Google has acquired Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share or $12.5 billion. This is Google’s largest acquisition with the aim to challenge Apple as a handset producer.
Larry Page CEO of Google had this to say of the acquisition:
“Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”
Andy Rubin, Google’s senior vice president of mobile, said in a statement that the Android platform will remain open:
“Our vision for Android is unchanged, and Google remains firmly committed to Android as an open platform and a vibrant open source community. We will continue to work with all of our valued Android partners to develop and distribute innovative Android-powered devices.”
Im very surprised they didnt look at acquiring HTC.
Motorola is a great business and has over $3 billion in the bank. They also have 19,000 employees and produce set top boxes and phone accessories. It will be interesting to see how they can put both businesses together.
Apple has finally confirmed that the White iPhone 4 will be available today in 28 countries. Countries include: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UK and the US
The White iPhone 4 has a standard price, so make sure you check it out at your local Apple retailer.
The mobile web has been around for quite some time. It’s earliest form was accessed using primitive mobiles using GPRS. Early Blackberries at the turn of the millennium played their part in increasing its popularity and relevance. Still however, the computer remained the best way to access the web. However, since the iPhone revolutionised the way we think about mobile web, its usage has more than doubled in one year.
2009 saw an increase of more than 110% in mobile web usage. This is undoubtedly due to the rush of smart phones onto the market such as the iPhone, Android devices and new Blackberries. Apple dominates each continental market except for Africa where cheaper GPRS phones still rule. In fact, Apple had a 65% share of the market at the end of 2009 with their iPhone and iPod Touch.
Android is the number two player in the US and has been growing in dominance since late 2008 when they launched on HTC phones. Towards the end of 2009, Android also seen a spike when their Motorola devices went on sale. They currently have around 12% of the North American market.
2010 may see the mobile web take off as Google prepare to launch their own smart phone and the scramble for consumers to get more up to date phones begins as the world climbs out of recession.
There once was a time when if you wanted to surf the web, check you e-mails and text a buddy on the move you bought a Blackberry. They took care of everything for you and became so popular the brand name was a synonym for ‘Smartphone’. However, the competition has been heating up in the Smartphone market ever since the iPhone was introduced last year. Samsung are meeting it head on with their i900 and the Nokia N97 will give it a run for its money. With all these new releases, each one promising more than the other you’d expect Blackberry, the old giant of the Smartphone world to come out with a good model. You’d be wrong.
Instead, they throw the Tour 9630 out there. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good phone. Good shapes like the Blackberry Curve, nice and wide, QWERTY keyboard and a 480×360 screen. It also has 3G, GPS mapping, good browsing speed and a 3.2 megapixel camera. However, I ask you – does any of this surprise you. When the iPhone came out everyone gasped when GPS mapping was so well incorporated, when the touch screen was so easy to operate and when the internet was just that – the internet. But the upcoming Blackberry Tour 9630 just doesn’t offer anything new.
In fact, it has taken away a few features including one very important one – WiFi. This will deter the typical consumer who doesn’t particularly want to pay 3G charges and use their home WiFi instead. For this reason, the 9630 is only really a good phone for the business person, not for the average consumer. I think that Blackberry has cut out a large chunk of the market by leaving out WiFi. Are Blackberry floundering under the pressure of a new Smartphone market or are they ramping things up for a big release? Let’s hope for the latter because it would be a shame to see a once strong giant disappear so quickly with barely a whimper from phones like the 9630
