Hello everyone -- lots of news in the tech world this week, with Google agreeing to acquire Motorola and HP completely revamping their business. I think this is a sign that companies, at least, are really buying into the idea of the post-PC era. Looking forward to hearing from you all.
It is amazing how Apple has somehow managed to push HP out of three markets -- tablets, smartphones and PCs -- despite the fact that HP's currently the biggest PC seller in the world. It's clear that HP knew they wouldn't ever catch up to the iPad, though. In their earnings call they said they, at most, aspired to be number 2
I agree. Everything about yesterday's announcements was so rushed, defensive and strange. The TouchPad was clearly not selling well at all, but the reviews were pretty good and it was clear that people wanted to see where HP would take the idea.
Oh, those commercials.
You know, I think it's clear from HP's comments that they were just sick of paying for Palm without seeing returns.
It takes a great deal of business courage to act on what one sees, particularly when the ramifications of that sight are frightening. Credit Apotheker with that courage. His decision to abandon Palm and webOS was relatively easy in light of recent results; his plan to leave the PC market, while correct, was much more difficult, if only because of the scrutiny involved.
I'm impressed with Apotheker's strategic insights and management balls. He may just be the executive of the year. - Post user joachim1
He certainly was the only bit of encouragement or warmth on that earnings call yesterday. I was impressed that he was willing to say, "These are all my decisions." It's worth noting, too, that he comes from a software background -- something HP clearly knew -- so it's not a huge shock to see a shift in that direction
What does Google want with Motorola? What new products are they thinking up?
Oh, if only we knew! It's a strange situation, really, since Google's whole attitude to the deal has been that nothing will change about Android and MMI will be it's own company. While I think we'll probably see some more Google-Motorola products in the vein of the Xoom/Honeycomb, it will also be interesting to see how Google TV is affected by the hook-up with one of the largest set-top box manufacturers.
Is it really a surprise that HP flunked out of the tablet making industry?
No, I don't think it's a surprise, but I was a little thrown by their decision to kill it so quickly. Certainly the apps weren't there for the TouchPad -- the same problem RIM faces -- but the webOS was a solid system. It may still be, since HP is talking about possibly licensing it.
A) I love Google-rola, though I'm still deciding whether I like Motoroogle better.
B) To actually answer your question...I think so, yeah. Google's made it clear that it will keep its Nexus program exactly as it is now for the next device, and Android lead Andy Rubin said that won't change. On the other hand, the acquisition would mean Google's going to be bidding against itself for an exclusive Android phone. I just don't see how a Nexus Droid wouldn't be a possible outcome of that situation.
Of the tablets I've played around with, I like the Galaxy Tab 10.1 the best as an iPad competitor. Lots of people have also said they like the Asus Transformer, which hooks up with a keyboard.
Google never seems to do that well with anything social or anything mobile devices. Just not impressed.
Not a Google+ fan? No, I could see why you'd say that. They certainly still have the "Lab" feel to a lot of their products. That appeals to tech geeks, I think, because they like to be on the bleeding edge of innovation, but it's frustrating for when you just want things to work. That's Apple's secret formula, really. They're happy to wait on things until they know they can lock down a good user experience for people who don't want to bother with too much instability.
Hm. Well, I'm no IP expert, but my guess is that Apple and Samsung will strike a deal of some kind before it comes to that. A move like that wouldn't look good for anyone.
Tough question! I haven't gotten my hands on any of the unreleased phones yet. They're all really exciting smartphones, and the Galaxy S II has certainly done well overseas. I think it will be worth the wait, though -- as I said -- I'm going to square with you and say that I haven't played around with them to give you a really good answer.
I really like the multitasking system. It had some of the silly flick gestures that you see on the PlayBook, but it did a really nice job of handling multiple tasks without lagging. Also, the privacy settings were more fine-tuned, though I suppose that's more a function of HP vs. Google than webOS vs. Android
Wouldn't that be nice? Apple's tight-lipped, so I don't know for sure. My instinct is no, especially since they're launching iCloud and will be encouraging people to put their stuff up in the cloud. We'll see, though!
Yeah, I'm struggling with it myself. I like the idea, like you do, but I just don't have the energy to keep up with it and Facebook, and not enough of my friends have made the leap to quit FB altogether. Moving forward, I think I may make Google+ into the professional social media profile I don't get from Facebook because I've had it through college and grad school. I think of it as kind of a more open LinkedIn.
I think it's definitely the patents. That was a major focus of the call about the deal, and Google is waaaay behind in protecting itself from IP lawsuits. That cache of patents -- and old ones -- was definitely a major factor of the deal.
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