Google should play fair to prevent Android extinction | ZDNet
Summary
Google should avoid showing preferential treatment to Motorola Mobility, which it is buying for US$12.5 billion, in order to prevent possible fallout from other handset partners and follow after the footsteps of Symbian, industry insiders stated. Abhishek Chauchan, associate director of ICT practice Frost and Sullivan Asia-Pacific, noted that OEM partners would be wary of preferential treatment to Motorola Mobility by Google. CEO Carsten Brinkschulte said in a press statement released Wednesday that the acquisition will have "massive implications" on the global mobile ecosystem in that Android could follow the footsteps of Symbian. Chauchan chimed in, highlighting that Samsung, HTC & other Android phone vendors have been " facing the heat" as Google’s patent portfolio "was not enough to defend them" from rivals. In an earlier report by New York Times, it stated that the US$12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility meant that Google is buying the latters 17,500 patents for approximately US$400,000 each and this represented a "relative bargain".