Google made a surprise announcement this morning when it revealed plans to acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion. But will Google get its money"s worth in this rather risky purchase?
The Business Insider claims to have its own unnamed source in the mobile phone industry who pretty much slams the deal and Motorla in general. The source points out that Motorola is only expected to sell 20 million smartphones with Google"s Android operating system inside in 2011. By contrast, rival smartphone makers HTC is expected to sell 50 million Android phones and Samsung should sell a whopping 83 million Android phones this year. It also points out that Motorola Devices, which makes smartphones and tablets like the Motorola Xoom, is currently losing money for the company.
The same industry source claims that Motorola is "dysfunctional" as it stands right now and that Google"s claims that it Motorola will be a stand alone division with no real input from Google is "nonsense." Motorola has also been dealing with issues like releasing products on time. A prime example is the current status of Motorola"s long awaited Bionic 4G phone. The phone was first announced back in January at CES for release later this spring but the company has had issues with putting in the promised 4G technology. It"s currently expected to be launched in September, several months late.
The Google-Motorola deal could also face opposition from anti-trust regulators. News.com reports that companies like Microsoft and Apple will almost certainly will raise their concerns about the deal with government officials.