This really seems to be Google’s day on this blog. So far one part criticism and one part praise. I guess this post will be both.

Today Google bought Motorola. They claim that it is to strengthen Android as a platform against the ”anti-competitive” moves to buy patent portfolios by Apple and Microsoft. (Never mind that according to Microsoft, Google was invited to join in on the joint venture that bought one of the patent portfolios that Google’s been wining about.) Apparently other Android using phone makers praise this move.

A few things comes to my mind:

1. It’s not unlikely that Google is trying to, so to speak, control the entire experience. Especially people that likes/loves/worships iPhones criticize Android for platform fragmentation and for lack of a unified user experience. This gives them an opportunity to seriously lead by example, to make a ”true” Android Experience.

   Sure, Google has sold two Android phones under it’s own brand before, but none of them seemed to have been wholeheartedly done. I guess it will be different now.

   I’m not saying that this is a bad thing, absolutely not. For phone users it’s likely a great thing. A sort of ”gold standard” Android phone likely means happier customers. It also means more competition for Apple, which for me as a heavy Apple product user is even more great. Competition means Apple got to try harder and make even better products. And who knows, maybe they produce a phone that even makes me switch to team Android.

2. This will likely lead to a lot more revenue for the Motorola-Google, compared to Motorola’s revenue. Time and again the iPhone keeps being the by far most profitable phone (yes phone, not smart phone, it beats all mobile phones) even though it’s market share is far from the biggest. One big reason for that (and for Apple’s huge revenues in other parts of the tech industry as well) is likely Apple’s way of wanting to own and control ”the whole experience”.

3. Other Android vendors will likely not be so happy in the long run. If Google in fact starts making phones that are marketed as the true, intended Android experience, the other vendors are going to have quite a challenge competing.

   If this is not the case, then I don’t really see what Google gains from this move. Sure they get a bigger patent portfolio, but Google doesn’t like patents, since it hinders ”openness”. Defending against something you don’t like by acquiring a lot on your own doesn’t really sound like an honest thing. You wouldn’t oppose nukes by manufacturing your own, would you?

   If Google really wants to make a stand against patents (which I would applaud greatly, by the way) a good way of doing so would be to use its money and power to make some serious lobbying against software patents.

4. We recently explained how companies including Microsoft and Apple are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android.

   Google’s executives really, really got to stop playing the role of some kind of victim!