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Googorola, a New Age in Mobility
Well, it certainly has been an interesting couple of weeks in the mobility industry. Lawsuits galore, HP punting on the Tab (and most likely the whole Palm acquisition), Google buying Motorola Mobility (Googorola?), rumors of iPhone5 getting louder, and other rumors that Microsoft is finally going to compete in the space. And silently, well not so silently one by one the companies that started it all are being gobbled up. New, 21st century brands, some that can’t look at hardware if it was staring them in the eyes are taking center stage.
When there are winners, there have to be losers, even in a rapidly expanding market such as this. Nokia, the once titan of the category, that robbed market share from the inventors of cellular telephony (Motorola), although still #1 are now falling like a rock. Palm, who arguably added the “smart” aspect of smart phones by creating the PIM (personal information manager) elements now ubiquitous, recently bought by HP are now defunct and their legacy, sadly, may follow. Research in Motion, RIM, makers of the ubiquitous executive gadget of Christmas Past are down to a meager 3% and declining. While Google and Apple, who dominate the mobile Operating System market share see no end in sight.
Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility (MMI) brings to the table the largest patent dowry available: 17000 granted patents plus more than 7000 in process, including some unimaginable radio and communication intellectual property. This not only gives Google the ability to counter the myriad of lawsuits that make analysts weary of the future of Android, but can actually put them in the driver seat if they weren’t there already. Unfortunately there are always downsides to every upside. In this case its in the form of a Taiwanese and 2 Korean companies. Yes, you guessed it: HTC, Samsung, and LG. These 3 plus Motorola Mobility are the main adopters of Android and responsible for Google’s rise to the top OS in this category. Together they represent roughly 25% of the market or about the size of Apple’s iOS.
The question is, my loyal reader (singular), will they pick up their marbles and go home (with a layover in Redmond, Wa)? or will they trust Google to keep MMI running independently? Yeah right! Just like other things in life, some win, and some lose. The ones that win by just waiting it out, Microsoft have a real chance to become the third horse in the race. Mainly because they will be the only remaining independent. But with $53B burning their balance sheet, how long can they afford to stay that way?
Enjoy.
Losers can get married too
Have you ever seen a couple walking down the street, holding hands that make you think that only they could have found each other? That’s the impression I get when I see Microsoft and Nokia ink a strategic alliance. Granted, that’s not quite a marriage, but more like dating. Two of largest technology companies that arrived late to the smartphone party and who are struggling to remain relevant in the fastest growing boom in the Tech Industry since … well … ever, decide to join forces to battle Apple, Google, and their ecosystems. A daunting task I might add.
This is the deal: Microsoft has not been able to do anything good in the mobile world even after pouring millions (if not billions) of dollars. And Nokia, once the giant to follow in the cellphone industry did not see the modern smartphones come. Together, well, in this blogger’s humble opinion, is no better. Nokia’s hardware, as good as it is, is just that: hardware. They have never been able to stand out as a software supplier, areas where both Google, and Apple, the 2 leading forces in the smartphone world, excel at.
On the other hand, Microsoft has not been able to cut the cord. Still the number one player, by far, in fixed applications, has just been a disaster in the mobile world. Windows Mobile, arguably one of the first “smartphone” OS’s out there, did not evolve. And Windows Phone 7, a great approach, is a classic case of “too little, too late”. While Balmer, Microsoft’s CEO, brags about the eight thousand apps in WP7′s marketplace it remains at least an order of magnitude below iOS or Android. Carrier’s have dozens of smartphones in their lineup already with access to these apps and users preference, either by cult or anti-cult. NokiaSoft (or MicroNokia) will have to do the equivalent of pushing a herd of elephants up Mount Everest, one by one, without a sherpa, oxygen, and very little food.
In a letter to Nokia’s associates, Stephen Elop, Nokia’s CEO explained the transition his company will make to dump all activities on Symbian OS in order to adopt WP7 as its main smartphone OS. I find interesting he used the analogy of a “burning platform” and how people do desperate things in desperate moments. Kudos for admitting the desperate times and comparing a partnership with Microsoft to “jumping into the icy Atlantic”. Although it may seem a bit too much, it is more like jumping into the icy Atlantic, naked, in the middle of the night, and picking up drowning friends, with luggage, on the way down.
Granted, these are both outstanding companies with a history of innovation and impressive comebacks (remember Netscape?). But to pull this one off will require oodles of money, several miracles, outstanding negotiating with the carriers, and great, great products. They’ve both done it in the past, but will they do it again? But, given where they both are in this multibillion dollar market, do they really have a choice? Maybe not.
So good luck in your marriage, hope you both keep your maiden names. And please do not argue about naming the kids, hire professionals instead. Neither of you have a good track record there …
Enjoy.
Android’s ways to win over users
As well anticipated, and (may I even say) masterfully the Motorola Droid lunched yesterday. Besides its impressive spec it is really one of the first devices that can truly be considered smart, unfortunately it is mostly thanks to Google (author of the Android OS in which it is based) than Motorola, and the name Droid is really Verizon’s (it will launch in Europe with the lame – not a typo I did mean lame with an “l” – Milestone) . Other bloggers have said it falls short of a true “iPhone killer”. I don’t think it is really about that (in spite of the fact that it looks to be better than the iPhone – i happen to be an iPhone user myself- and on a better network – at least in the US). Of course, Motorola and others want to take away a piece of the Apple pie (I hate puns) but the Droid is really taking advantage of the growing pie. Smartphones is the only category of mobile devices that grew this year and it it expected (according to ABI Research) to triple by 2013 to (are you ready?) 650 million phones per year worldwide!! Thankfully in part to the variety in the marketplace. Each contender in this battle will appeal customers in a different way and their cultures are a clue to their methods and target markets.
Continue …
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