Boot up: Google buys Motorola – all the links you need, and more

Motorola has tried to build quality managemtn ever earlier into its manufacturing processes. Photograph: Mark Lennihan/AP

A quick burst of 7 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team

"As opposed to being protected, for which MMI's patents appear to be too weak, those other Android device makers are going to become second-class citizens. Google has set its priority. I said before: don't overestimate the patent part of the deal. This is about Google maximizing its control over Android for the reasons and with the effects I roughly described herein, and on which I'll comment in greater detail going forward."

"That's not to say it wasn't a bold, brash move, or even to say it wasn't the right move for Google and for Android as a platform. But that's all relative to the position Google was in -- and that position was a weak one, and to pretend otherwise is to deny the obvious. And don't forget that it leaves Google in a tenuous situation with the two leading Android handset makers, Samsung and HTC. I think Apple and Microsoft probably feel pretty good, competitively, about having forced Google into spending $12.5 billion for Motorola -- a handset maker with rapidly declining sales, no recent profits, and misguided management."

"According to Infonetics, Motorola Mobility was the leader in set-top box revenues last year, and was also tops in hybrid IP/QAM set-top boxes -- that is, the boxes used by operators like Verizon that combine broadcast TV and over-the-top applications. By leveraging Motorola's position with carriers, Google can better solidify its bid to expand Google TV and Android into the living room."

"Google Inc. agreed to pay Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. $2.5 billion if it fails to close the purchase of the mobile-phone maker, said a person with knowledge of the situation, a fee more than six times the typical amount."

"Our sources say that Motorola was in acquisition talks with several parties, including Microsoft for quite some time. Microsoft was interested in acquiring Motorola's patent portfolio that would have allowed it to torpedo Android even further. The possibility of that deal brought Google to the negotiation table, resulting in the blockbuster sale."

Reading between the lines of Microsoft's redactions: Linux is no longer a desktop threat; Apple and Google are "mainly" its desktop rivals; mobile matters; online battle is now inside the browser; and security is in, innovation is out. Worth reading in full.

Microsoft is finally ready to talk about Windows 8. Here's the new official blog.

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