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from the all-the-better-to-follow-you-with dept.
Google has acquired HTC's "Pixel" division, which has made premium Android products for Google, for $1.1 billion. Google will get around 2,000 new employees (around a fifth of HTC's total workforce) and a non-exclusive license for HTC's "intellectual property":
Of the three most influential companies in smartphone design, Nokia fragmented into a million pieces after being bought out by Microsoft, Apple is still going strong, and Google just bought the third with its $1.1 billion deal with HTC. The reason why Google acquired what looks to be the majority of HTC's phone design and engineering team is simple, and it's been obvious for over a year: Google is serious about becoming a hardware company.
Early in 2016, Google created a new hardware division and re-hired Motorola chief Rick Osterloh to run that group. A brief few months after that, the company was plastering the streets of Europe and the US with billboards trumpeting the arrival of the first "Made by Google" Pixel devices. Why do we refuse to acknowledge what's right in front of our eyes? Google is going to war against the iPhone.
[...] The Motorola deal was complex, involved a vast and valuable patent portfolio, and required careful balancing to preserve at the least the appearance of Motorola operating independently. With its new staff coming in from HTC, Google is getting a big and highly experienced team — close to 2,000 people, according to HTC CFO Peter Shen — and it's putting them directly under [former Motorola chief Rick] Osterloh's command. There's no confusion about where orders are coming from, or any external interests that need to be appeased. It's just going to be Google, suddenly powered up with the years of experience that a new hardware vendor usually lacks, with the clear goal of ousting Apple's iPhone from its position as the device most identified with the word "smartphone."
Compare to the $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2011.
Also at Google's Blog (written by Google Senior Vice President of Hardware, Rick Osterloh), Business Insider, Reuters, The Register, and The Street.
Previously: Google to Buy HTC Phone Business
(Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Friday September 22 2017, @03:43PM (1 child)
You must have, or you might have majorly surrounded yourself by people who have stopped questioning you. Here in real world Steve Jobs is synonymous with charisma, whether you like it or not.
And just to make sure you actually give this thing some thought, I don't own and have never owned any apple product. Not even iTunes shuffle back in the day.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 22 2017, @08:43PM
Charisma != respect.
People are simply falling for the bullshit marketing tactics, Apple respects their customers not one bit. They do a pretty good job of pretending they care though, to the point where they charge extra for their super-awesome-apple-experience. I'm sure quite a few suckers think they are getting A++++ treatment since every piece costs 2X as much.