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Google Finalizes Acquisition of Motorola Mobility

Posted by Unknown on from the no-antitrust-issues-here-officer dept.

zacharye writes with news of the end of the regulatory saga that was Google acquiring Motorola Mobility. From the article: "In line with earlier reports, Google on Tuesday finalized its acquisition of Motorola Mobility. The $12.5 billion merger was approved by regulators in China on Monday after having been given the green light by the United States Department of Justice this past February. Chinese regulators did stipulate terms for its approval, however, namely that Google must continue to make Android open-source and freely available. Former Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha has stepped down and Google's Dennis Woodside will replace him as chief executive..."

109 comments

  1. Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by mlts · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The biggest thing I've been hoping for with the Google/Motorola merger is that Google could offer a method to unlock bootloaders on newer Motorola phones, such as the Atrix 2, Photon, or others.

    I'm just hoping this comes to pass now that all the big names have signed onto this.

    1. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by h4rr4r · · Score: 0

      While we are hoping for stuff that will not happen, I hope they kill Blur.

      HTC still will not really unlock a phone, by that I mean lack of S-OFF. Sure you can live with that, but this is why I did not buy an HTC phone.

    2. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by NerdmastaX · · Score: 1

      well if they dont unlock the bootloaders, then goodbye google.

    3. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      well if they dont unlock the bootloaders, then goodbye google.

      And then go where? To Apple?

    4. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      I would assume he means he would stick with dev devices. Which is what those of us who want an unlocked bootloader do now.

    5. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by Eddy+Da+KillaBee · · Score: 2

      I would assume he means he would stick with dev devices. Which is what those of us who want an unlocked bootloader do now.



      Yup. I've been buying HTC phones since they were doing Windows Mobile 6.x phones for T-Mobile (T-Mobile MDA/Wizard). I even took my HTC HD2 and learned to put Android on it. When I switched to Sprint, found that I couldn't do an S-OFF on my HTC Evo 3D, and had to jump through hoops just to change ROMs, I traded it in and "downgraded" to a Nexus S 4G. Best decision ever.
    6. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by MXPS · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure what you were doing but I have S-OFF on my HTC Evo 3D.

    7. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by Eddy+Da+KillaBee · · Score: 1

      I was one of the unfortunate saps that had HBOOT 1.5 instead of 1.3 or 1.4. You could get S-OFF on everything but HBOOT 1.5. There had been talk on the XDA forums about trying to get HBOOT downgraded, but I figured it was just easier to ditch the phone than to wait with bated breath.

    8. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      don't be so sure. The Amaze4G recently got S-OFF.

      Not from HTC mind you, but it's there.

    9. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by mlts · · Score: 1

      I used to swear by HTC phones, because I had a T-Mobile MDA/Wizard (WM 5.x initially, flashed to 6.x, and overclocked) and that phone lasted over four years without an issue. Battery life? Could go for a week on standby, few phones made these days could brag about doing.

      The one thing I wish Google would do with Motorola is what they have done on all Nexus phones --

      fastboot oem unlock

      accept the "you can't just walk into Mordor" dialog, have it erase the filesystems, and then go about what you want to do.

      Novice users who are prone to the dancing bunny attack won't be downloading and using the Android SDK, especially when they see that every piece of data they have will get wiped.

      Motorola has some very good security and some very cool features in their newer devices. Webtop just is something that has a ton of promises, especially with the technology of a render server streaming video to devices (so they can show the detailed 3D graphics without having to have the video card power for them.)

    10. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by BagOBones · · Score: 1

      Well an unlocked boot loader might be what you need since Moto isn't going to update the DROID 2 or X2, well unless google changes that.
      http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/21/3033966/motorola-android-ice-cream-sandwich-upgrade-statement

      --
      EA David Gardner -"... but the consumers have proven that actually what they want is fun."
    11. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by tepples · · Score: 1

      a render server streaming video to devices

      Would the render server be in the same building? Or would it be in The Cloud(tm), using up the user's monthly allotment of data transfer like OnLive?

    12. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Those monthly allotments are still pretty rare in the USA. Even place that have them like comcasts 350GB limits, are pretty decent. It would take something like 5 hours a day to go over.

    13. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by Dishevel · · Score: 1

      You are right a little bit.
      HTC may not straight out give you S-Off, but they really have made S-Off not hard to get.
      Before they let you unlock the boot loaders it was still trivial to get yourself Rooted, Unlocked and S-Off on most HTC phones.

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
    14. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by Miamicanes · · Score: 1

      Finally! Google's in charge, and Moto can finally be made non-evil (does official "happy dance"). I was about to give up hope.

      I have a Photon that was lobotomized by Moto's 2.3.5 update last week (which killed our ability to unlock the bootloader through guerrilla means). I listed it on eBay on Sunday after deciding I had no desire to own a crippled phone with a locked bootloader. As a direct result of this good news, I cancelled the auction a few minutes ago, and decided to wait at least another week or two in case Google decides to show the world they're aggressively non-evil by telling Motorola to liberate our bootloaders... now.

      Please, Google... let the sweet song of AOSP freedom fill the sterile cubicles at Motorola. Allow us to throw off our chains and shackles, and enjoy Android freedom on a phone that has a microSD card & a real camera button. For the love of [God||Xenu||FSM], I beg you. No, I beseech and implore you. With one stroke of your pen (and some thinly-veiled threats of termination), you can liberate every Motorola phone from the heavy yoke imposed by Motorola within a matter of days, and win the undying love & loyalty of the XDA crowd forever. We love Motorola's hardware. We despise their locked bootloaders. Make Motorola unlock my Photon, and I might even replace it with a Photon Q (with extended battery) in a couple of months.

    15. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by tripleevenfall · · Score: 1

      The biggest thing to hope for here is that Google will now control some hardware like Apple does, so they can make an OS that works just as well - at least on some hardware.

    16. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by EvilBudMan · · Score: 1

      I should mod you but S-OFF can be gained on an HTC pretty easily using Revolutionary. Then you can gain root access of even change your ROM from there. I don't know if this method works on the newest of the new but it works on most HTC's out there.

    17. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by h4rr4r · · Score: 2

      I meant from HTC. I have 0 interest in rewarding people who sell boot loader locked phones.

    18. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by EvilBudMan · · Score: 1

      Yes that's what I meant. You can gain S-on here:

      http://revolutionary.io/

      SuperOneClick wont break an HTC. You have to do a little more work.

    19. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by h4rr4r · · Score: 2

      That is not from HTC.
      Which means you should just not buy HTC phones. Much easier.

    20. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What? O.o I think you're confused on what tepples is talking about...

      Sure, if you're on your home wifi (or other wifi) all the time, then what you say is accurate.

      However, the mobile carriers pretty much all (excepting Sprint, I think?) are going to monthly allotments these days. And there's no 350GB about it... more like 3GB for the smaller end and (just pulling numbers outa my ass, because I'm on grandfathered unlimited until they screw me out of it) maybe 15GB for the upper end... If you want to do the render server idea in the cloud and want to use that away from where you have access to wifi that you can do so with, the monthly allotment becomes an issue for most US cellular users now...

    21. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by ozmanjusri · · Score: 1

      I have Android on a HTC HD7. It's not that challenging.

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
    22. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by EvilBudMan · · Score: 1

      Why do you want S-off if you don't want to root your phone? I just gave you the crack that will break the NAND lock on most HTC phones. It's a simple matter after that to just copy over SU using ADB. Even though I have a LG now, I kind of miss that old HTC that I had. In any case it's not HTC's fault. The phone companies are going to keep making this harder on all phones so you can't delete their crap ware. Most newer Android phones with ICS wont even let you change the memory card, just like Apple.

    23. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by ZFox · · Score: 1

      The phone companies are going to keep making this harder on all phones so you can't delete their crap ware. Most newer Android phones with ICS wont even let you change the memory card, just like Apple.

      I thought that was solely due to the fact that people are too stupid to unmount their devices after writing to it....Apple just assumed that about their users from the start. ;-)

    24. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by EvilBudMan · · Score: 1

      No, you just about have too root every device to be able to delete that stuff unless you go for a plain Jane Google model and don't go on contract. I think those are devoid of it but all Verizon and AT&T phones have that stuff in internal memory. Apple probably has less bloat but for now they also have higher prices, smaller screens, and are really behind except in the tablets. Apple looks to have the best tablet with the dumbest name "iPAD 2". It sounds like you are buying tampons or something. Why not call that the iTAB or similar. IBM would do much better if they used iBM but that's getting off subject. Google buying up Motorola Mobility might create another Apple style closed box.

    25. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by ZFox · · Score: 1

      I gotcha, locked System apps and all that...thought you were talking about Google's decision to not use USB Mass Storage in the latest Nexus, using MTP, instead.

      Google has also been trying to increase their brand presence in Android, which could be another motivating factor for the purchase (in addition to their IP portfolio). I'm afraid you're right that they might lock down their new devices even further, all in the name of security and to protect their brand image.

    26. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by EvilBudMan · · Score: 1

      Right that's why I just kept 2.2.2 on my LG Thrill (Optimus 3D). Just rooted it and added in the features that I want. Now just about all apps work with it that didn't before, mainly Open GL games that 2.2 apparently doesn't support. It was actually easier to do that then it would have been to upgrade to Gingerbread which is available now with Ice Cream Sandwich coming soon but I now have a decent screen capture and a bunch of other software that gets more out of 2.2 and finally sets that 1ghz dual core processor free.MTP is just one more reason I don't want to go there as certain manufactures are going to limit capabilities there.

    27. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      I want a way from the OEM to flash a new OS or make any modifications I want without any cracks.

      I want to use my money to support only those who sell what I want. Is that really so hard to understand.

      The phone companies are why I own a nexus, and my next phone will be a nexus as well.

    28. Re:Now can we see some bootlocker unlock love... by EvilBudMan · · Score: 1

      Well I think with that phone all you have to do is copy Superuser in the proper directory and you are done. HTC has a NAND lock which is still no big deal to root. As I understand it a Nexus wont allow you to upgrade your memory. IMO that is a larger issue as to go from 16gig to 32gig there is quite a price premium like Apple has their phones priced $100 more for an increase in $10 worth of memory.

      What is worse than rooting one is upgrading one and getting all of your stuff transferred. I have a phone that has a 4.5 inch screen 1 ghz dual core processor but only came with 2.2.2 but once rooted usually there is enough good apps you can get then to do what you want. The biggest issue I have with the phone companies is charging for tethering. Data is data after all.

  2. Motorola the irrelevant company? That one? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Their products are a buggy piece of shit since the StarTAC case. I still don't understand what the fascination with Moto phones is when there are much better alternatives from Samsung and HTC. Google just bought this walking corpse for the patents, they should get rid of everything else, including the stupid morons who were running the company and that make Commodore execs look good when compared.

    Fuck Motorola and their mediocre crap.

  3. My wish... by dogsbreath · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ... is that the superb Motorola cell phone radios get implemented in the Google phones. I live in a rural area and although I really like both the iPhone and the Samsung android phones, I rely almost exclusively on my Motorola Defy.

    The reception and voice quality is incredibly better than any other cell phone I have used (and that is a lot). I have never experienced a dropped call with it and it always connects unless there is absolutely no signal.

    Sigh

    1. Re:My wish... by P-niiice · · Score: 1

      They need to surround that great reception/call quality with some sexy tech or they'll continue to be dryhumped in the market.

    2. Re:My wish... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Exactly. So Moto should do what they do so well: build cell phone guts. Let Samsung and apple design the rest of the device.

    3. Re:My wish... by KingSkippus · · Score: 2

      Not really, look for example at apple. With an outstanding marketing department you can get people to want barely working tech encapsuled in what is pretty much a black brick.

      Lord knows I'm not a fan of Apple, and there is much to criticize the company for--setting up walled gardens, trying to lock consumers into their product lines, patent shenanigans, etc. Say what you want, though, but criticisms that their "black brick" is "barely working" are way off-base. Two things I do admire Apple for are 1) the aesthetic design of their products, and 2) the out-of-the-box tech polish they give everything, including brand newly launched products.

      As fun as it is to make fun of the "cult of Apple," there are nuggets of truth to what their consumers espouse. Their stuff does work well and their products are good products. If only they would adopt a more open philosophy, they really could be the best tech company out there.

    4. Re:My wish... by KingSkippus · · Score: 2

      P.S. This is why I have such high hopes for Google. They do tend to be quite open with their products, arguably too open in some respects. Still, if they get to the level of design expertise, polish, and outright raw power in small form factors that Apple has gotten to, all the while keeping their thriving corporate culture intact, there's no telling how much it can achieve, changing the industry in ways we (or they, for that matter) haven't even dreamed of yet.

      It's a shame that Apple and Google seem to be such mortal enemies. If they could learn from each other and take the best aspects of each other, that would be pretty much an ideal company.

    5. Re:My wish... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let Samsung and apple design the rest of the device.

      So just Apple then, amiright?

    6. Re:My wish... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They are mortal enemies because it's illegal in the US for companies to collude in order to lock in a particular market. You wouldn't want Google and Apple co-operating :) Competition is good.

    7. Re:My wish... by Swampash · · Score: 0

      P.S. This is why I have such high hopes for Google. They do tend to be quite open with their products, arguably too open in some respects. Still, if they get to the level of design expertise, polish, and outright raw power in small form factors that Apple has gotten to, all the while keeping their thriving corporate culture intact, there's no telling how much it can achieve, changing the industry in ways we (or they, for that matter) haven't even dreamed of yet.

      Google is an advertising company that derives almost all of its income from showing advertisements to users of desktop computers.

      a) is that a market with a future, and

      b) is that the sort of company you admire? An ADVERTISING COMPANY?

    8. Re:My wish... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A word of warning - there is always the threat of the phone speaker dying. I suspect it has something to do with the 3.5mm jack, because my speaker died when I started using it, a couple of weeks ago. Can't be bothered getting it repaired, as the headphones and speakerphone still work, but it hurts, because that really is a beautiful phone (especially with cyanogenmod, drives like a new car after you put that on).

    9. Re:My wish... by dogsbreath · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that seems to be a common complaint but it seems mostly with early production units. Mine has had no issue and it has been severely abused. I think the replacement speaker is quite cheap and easy to replace. Easier than the iphone which has had similar issues.

    10. Re:My wish... by dogsbreath · · Score: 1

      ... one more thing: this speaks to my point that Motorola is good at making great cell phone radio electronics. They have about 50 years experience with communication gear and it shows.

      They should be making radios for every phone the way other manufacturers make displays, wifi chipsets, etc. Apple could certainly benefit from Motorola RF guts and every Japanese/Korean phone I have used has terrible RF characteristics. Its like they never expect you to be more than 500 m from a cell site.

      My provider has five towers more or less equidistant from me: closest is 15 km, furthest is 21 km. The nearest towers have a HV transmission line in the fresnel zone about 5 km away.

      I got good reception on my 3GS if I held it upside down, my 4 was useless and the 4S is just a touch better than useless.

      Lumia 800 works if you take the back off but that is kind of inconvenient.

      My wife's Moto W385 and my Defy are never worse than 94 db and always connect. Best I get on the 3GS is 96 db but only briefly. Normal for it is about -110 to -116. The 4 and 4S sometimes get a good signal but usually show nothing.

      Samsung and LG phones reception is generally non-existant at my location.

      Clearly, operation as a PHONE is low on the priority list for most smartphone designs.

  4. Just one thing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I still think "Motorola Mobility" sounds more like a company that makes scooters for disabled people than mobile phones.

  5. Warming up the three new superpowers by Cute+Fuzzy+Bunny · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Apple has a range of consumer electronics, app and media markets, etc.

    Amazon has some consumer electronics and is expanding, and has app and media markets.

    Now Google will have a range of consumer electronics branded under their own name, a likely well manicured phone and tablet, app and media markets.

    All three have the potential to develop sophisticated soup-to-nuts ecosystems.

    Goodbye Microsoft...

    1. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      Goodbye Microsoft...

      It's not like Microsoft was much of a player in this market anymore, anyway...

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    2. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by alen · · Score: 2

      MS has the X-Box

      you know that box that sold tens of millions of units and you can watch cable TV on it, youtube, movies and lots of other services? most people still watch this stuff on a TV, not a phone or tablet

    3. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Jeng · · Score: 1

      I use a blu-ray player for all the functionality you listed above, I just can't play games on it or HD-DVD.

      --
      Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
    4. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Cute+Fuzzy+Bunny · · Score: 2

      I don't think Microsoft is going to be a player in any market anymore. It appears that their only trick is to shove windows onto small platforms where its not needed. Unless you have an xbox (which is hard to haul around with you), they don't have much in the way of a viable full platform set with apps and music and books. Lets face it, Bing/xbox live/whatever they're calling it these days sucks.

    5. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Cute+Fuzzy+Bunny · · Score: 1

      Hard to carry an xbox around with you. Plus motorola has plenty of set top boxes and google has google tv. Not a high end gaming console, but when you can have the same thing on your tv, phone, tablet and computer with access to most music, books and apps...whats not to like?

      Not to mention Google swears that a huge percentage of tv's made in the second half of this year will have google tv incorporated.

    6. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      Can't play HD-DVDs on most XBoxes, either. The HD-DVD drive was a separate add-on which very few people got and has been discontinued for years. That's one of the reasons HD-DVD got beat by Blu-Ray--every PS3 came (and comes) with a Blu-Ray drive standard.

    7. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean the box that only has access to all these services in the USA only? That limited, POS, good-for-nothing media box?

      Thanks, but we'll pass.

      Signed, the rest of the world.

    8. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Well, hold on, Because with the exception of Apple, none of these companies has a complete range of devices in the space that Microsoft operates in.

      Microsoft has a (mediocre) presence on tablets (awful, awful, tablets right now, but Windows 6150 might change that.) That's the one space all the companies above seem to have a presence.

      Microsoft has a presence on mobile phones. Google and Apple do too. Amazon doesn't.

      Microsoft has its own PC operating system. Apple does too. Google... uh, kinda. Well, seriously, who uses ChromeOS? Right now the most likely "Google OS that has something to do with desktops" is probably the Android part of Ubuntu for Android, and that's not even out yet. Amazon? Nope.

      Microsoft has its own games consoles. Apple, Google, and Amazon? Nope.

      Now, I know that all three Microsoft rivals could potentially put something together, but that's a huge amount of work. I also know that some people think that tablets will displace desktops in the near future. Those people are what we in the business call "idiots".

      Finally, Microsoft has the ability to fix the problem if, for some reason, those three actually start making a dent due to them owning hardware and software businesses. Microsoft could probably fairly easily get away with buying Nokia right now, for example.

      Soups to nuts ecosystems are, perhaps, a little over-rated anyway. That's what we had during the eighties, with the exception of Microsoft's platforms.

      We had: Atari. Commodore. DEC. Radio Shack. Sinclair. Wang.

      However great the above businesses' products (Amiga! Amiga!) they (or at least their personal computer vertical businesses) were pushed six feet under by a market that didn't want anything that wasn't industry standard.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    9. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Yvan256 · · Score: 2

      Yet another reason to stay with dumb computer monitors.

      Give me inputs and leave your all-in-one-box crap out of my displays, thanks.

    10. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by hazydave · · Score: 2

      While it's partially true that the industry standard pushed hard against the proprietary systems, that's no entirely true. Some of it was simply that the established proprietary system companies didn't try hard enough. It seems that color, video, and animation took Apple by surprise on the Mac.. they were offering what, the Apple ][ GS for that market? And they're the one that survived... only barely, and mostly because Steve Jobs came along and converted them into a high profit luxury CE company, not a personal computer company anymore (Macs are about 18% of Apple's business, and falling every quarter).

      Commodore and the Amiga blazed that multimedia trail, with once revolutionary hardware and the best overall OS in the personal computer business at the time. But the bosses paid themselves more than the CEOs of Apple and IBM... combined, and spent way too little on R&D, despite Commodore at the time being more tied to custom chip development (eg, spending lots of money) than any of the others. Commodore couldn't remain competitive that way, but it was really more of a suicide than our being overrun by IBM compatibles.

      Atari's management (the ex-Commodore Tramiels) didn't understand the difference between a late 80s/early 90s computer that needed real ongoing OS development at upgrades, and the Commodore 64 era of the OS basically being part of the hardware. Wang was already pretty much of it by then... they didn't really transition well from dedicated word processing gear to general purpose PCs. Rat Shack when totally IBM compatible, and eventually just didn't see any profit in making their own. Sinclair only put their toe into the 16-bit world anyway, with the very restricted QL, and hit enough trouble in 1985 to sell all their personal computer assets to Amstrad. DEC pretty much missed the idea that personal computers would grow more powerful than minicomputers faster than minis could keep up.

      --
      -Dave Haynie
    11. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      Can't play HD-DVDs on most XBoxes, either. The HD-DVD drive was a separate add-on which very few people got and has been discontinued for years. That's one of the reasons HD-DVD got beat by Blu-Ray--every PS3 came (and comes) with a Blu-Ray drive standard.

      Not really. PS3 was a distant 3rd and most people were buying it because it was the cheapest (at $600) blu-ray player out there (rest were $1000+, and HD-DVD players were cheaper at $300-500).

      The big reason was the drying up of HD-DVD content because the studios realized they couldn't release HD-DVDs the same as they did DVDs. The DVD Forum (behind HD-DVD) inadvertently forgot to enable region codes in HD-DVD, which many enterprising people used. So when a movie was hitting theatres in their own countries (or even before theatrical release!), owners could go to Amazon and import the latest HD-DVDs and play them.

      That, and some serious money was being thrown around to get studios to go exclusive.

      Of course, Blu-Ray wasn't helped by not having all HD-DVD features from the get-go (BD Profile 2.0 got it to feature parity), nor the limitation of being stuck with MPEG2 video (instead of h.264), or being stuck with 25GB single-layer discs because of yield issues with 50GB dual-layers (HD-DVDs were dual-layer 30GB). So BDs were poorly encoded messes with basically Dolby Digital or DTS only audio (if you're lucky, PCM) and discs with the movie on it because that's all that could fit.

      And no, the HD-DVD addon never sold well because the HD-DVD standalone players weren't much mor expensive than the addon (addon was $200. HD-DVD players were dropping down to $300).

      I wonder if the current Xbox can even play it right now - still have some HD-DVDs whose Blu-Ray releases were basically crap and never re-released, and some catalog movies where the Blu-Ray was completely destroyed by Blu-Ray mastering (DNR leading to MORE film grain, posterization, and interestingly, loss of detail - as if someone took the DVD and upscaled it).

    12. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by DragonWriter · · Score: 2

      MS has the X-Box

      you know that box that sold tens of millions of units and you can watch cable TV on it

      Isn't Motorola Mobility the biggest maker of Cable TV boxes?

    13. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh look, the anti-MS shills are spamming again. When will Slashdot deal with all these shills that have taken over the website?

      Oh, and btw, WP7 is much nicer than Android.

    14. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      It still utterly bewilders me that Apple was the one of the bunch that survived, but I suspect at least a part of it was building up a substantial cash base which wasn't the case with the others.

      And I continue to remain upset about what happened to Commodore and what happened to the Amiga afterwards. But if I wasn't, I wouldn't be a geek, or human.

      Still, my experience of buying Amigas was:

      1. Nobody at University understood why I'd get one. C'mon, the professors say get Macs! And the rest of the world are getting PCs! Get a PC, I'll copy Zortech C++ for you!

      2. Wait, you bought a HARD DRIVE for that Amiga? Isn't that, like, a games console or something? What do you need a hard disk for?

      Now, true, this was Britain, but the "serious" computing media in Britain in 1990/1 was comprised of "Personal Computer World" and "Computer Shopper". Of the two, the former had apparently made a policy decision to ignore virtually anything that wasn't a PC clone since the late eighties, with the occasional exception of mentioning/reviewing something Acorn had done. And CS had little "sections" for non-PCs, which felt like little ghettos. Otherwise, both papers, month after month after month, were PC only, and generally computer reviews had titles like "100 identical PC clones compared!" Imported copies of Byte were slightly more agnostic, but not much.

      So I did feel like the market was pushing proprietary alternatives out. Computers that didn't have ISA slots and processors ending in "86" were considered toys or worse. Apple got some cred purely because of academic support.

      And I think you saw some of that on Usenet, in groups like comp.sys.amiga.*, where Amigans were loud and, well, a little defensive most of the time. We knew we had a fantastic, beautiful, system. We knew it was light years ahead of what the rest of the world was using, even despite the problems Commodore was having. And yet the rest of the world simply... ignored it. And seemed to be ignoring it primarily because nobody ever got fired for buying from IBM or Microsoft.

      That's how I felt at the time anyway.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    15. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      Let me guess. You have a HD-DVD library, don't you?

    16. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am not certain, but I'm pretty sure that Motorola Mobility does not include set top boxes. That's part of "Motorola" not "Motorola Mobility" and therefore, not owned by Google. Also, googletv is shit. I wish it wasn't, but it is.

    17. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by ArhcAngel · · Score: 1

      Why YES I believe they are.

      --
      "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
    18. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by EvilBudMan · · Score: 1

      Then there is the FaceBook wild card. They now have some money to through at stuff like this. I wouldn't bet against Microsoft ever as they also have a ton of money to play with.

    19. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only if you drop the 'Mobility' part. Google didn't buy all of Motorola.

    20. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're wrong though. MMI DOES include "Home", the Set-Top-Box division.

    21. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrong. Do your research better. The set top Cable TV boxes are part of Motorola Mobility that Google bought. Google now makes set top boxes. Done.

    22. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh look, the pro-MS shills are spamming again. When will Slashdot deal with all these shills that have taken over the website?

      Oh, and btw, iOS is much nicer than Android, and Android is much nicer than WP7.

      WTF is WP7 supposed to mean anyway? WordPress7? What a dumb name.

    23. Re:Warming up the three new superpowers by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Only if you drop the 'Mobility' part. Google didn't buy all of Motorola.

      The part of the old Motorola that did Cable STBs is the part that was spun off as "Motorola Mobility" and purchased by Google.

      So, while the second half of your sentence is true, its irrelevant to the first half.

  6. Nexus Line by tycoex · · Score: 1

    Google could now potentially make an entire line of Nexus phones through Motorola. Say goodbye to MotoBlur crap?

    1. Re:Nexus Line by Volvogga · · Score: 2

      I actually was wondering if the "Nexus Line" announcement from a week or two ago had anything to do with Motorola's acquisition (if you didn't catch it, basically every manufacture will have the option to make their own Nexus phone that follows Google's design specs and have it sold through the Google Play Store). By not allowing just one manufacture a year to take a crack at the Nexus, Google could reduce the amount of finger pointing at them if Motorola phones start getting quick OS upgrade releases. I know Google promised to run Motorola like a completely separate company, but I wouldn't be surprised if the corporate plan for Motorola goes more in line with a unified Android approach.

      --
      Vol~
  7. China by vlm · · Score: 0

    The $12.5 billion merger was approved by regulators in China on Monday

    How does China relate to this exactly? I looked at the wiki page and it seems they were an American company, HQ in chicago, etc. Did they own a lot of factories or property in China, thus needing permission?

    --
    "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
    1. Re:China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Where do you think the actual phones are built? It sure as shit isn't America.

    2. Re:China by h4rr4r · · Score: 3, Informative

      They would like to be able to sell their product in China.

    3. Re:China by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

      Where do you think the actual phones are built? It sure as shit isn't America.

      Samsung produce chips in America...Although I'm not really sure of why "Made" trumps "Sold"

    4. Re:China by tuppe666 · · Score: 0

      They would like to be able to sell their product in China.

      It relates to Android and its 70% lead in the market, and whether Google would give preferential treatment to Motorola.

      On a fun side note Android had doubled its market share in a year to 70%, Apples share had...dropped to 5%, and is now being beaten by Windows Phone. It just shows how different some of the markets are.

    5. Re:China by Hydrian · · Score: 1

      'Made' in America tends to imply that the jobs to create the object are assembled/fabricated in the USA. 'Sold' just means the company that is selling the end product is an american company.

      --
      No good deed goes unpunished.
    6. Re:China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The $12.5 billion merger was approved by regulators in China on Monday

      How does China relate to this exactly? I looked at the wiki page and it seems they were an American company, HQ in chicago, etc. Did they own a lot of factories or property in China, thus needing permission?

      Yes. They have substantial manufacturing facilities in China, which are governed by Chinese law.

    7. Re:China by NatasRevol · · Score: 2

      Those numbers will change in a year. Apple is spending a shit ton of money for ramping up manufacturing equipment, forecast for $7B this year. What other company has ever spent that much just on mfg equipment? One obvious reason is growth in China.

      http://www.asymco.com/2012/05/22/up-to-eleven/

      --
      There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
    8. Re:China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apparently the claim by Microsoft that Windows phone is beating the iPhone in China is simply a lie put out by someone at Microsoft. From

      http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/

      MICROSOFT - MORE SHEER BULLSH*T

      And then lets go to the Evil Empire. What do we know about Microsoft? (You may want to read my article from last week, How Microsoft Lost the Future). We heard this phenomenal story from China, that Windows Phone is supposedly outselling the iPhone. Wow. That would be astonishing, considering that Apple just reported its best-ever quarter out of China, and that was achieved with only one week of iPhone 4S sales in Q1 (January-March) quarter. So now, in Q2, which is the first quarter that Windows Phone handsets are sold in China, if Windows Phone makers have jumped ahead of Apple's iPhone, in the world's biggest smartphone market - that would be huge news. Apple's growth was achieved in over 3 years. And Microsoft has passed them in three months? Yeah, sure. And monkeys might fly out of my butt, as Madonna said on Wayne's World.

    9. Re:China by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      How does China relate to this exactly? I looked at the wiki page and it seems they were an American company, HQ in chicago, etc. Did they own a lot of factories or property in China, thus needing permission?

      They do own factories and other operations in China (actually, I believe they own a subsidiary which is a Chinese company which owns those operations.)

    10. Re:China by Dripdry · · Score: 1

      Yes, they are right here in good old LIbertyville, IL (about 35 minutes north of downtown chicago on the highway). However, yes, they have a very heavy presence in China, I believe with factories. it's been that way for at least 7 years, probably longer.

      --
      -
    11. Re:China by Missing.Matter · · Score: 1

      So your evidence to the contrary boils down to "Pfft, yeah sure." iPhones are very expensive, and not everyone can afford them, especially in China. Windows Phone is sold on several lower end models. Kind of makes sense in a way... but I guess you're right, it boils down to he-said she-said. No real evidence to back it up.

      How about a look at some numbers in a nearby region: Russia

      According to this report, Windows Phone sold more units than iOS during Q1 2012. Furthermore, 3 of the top 5 most popular phones over 10000 RUB were Windows Phones.

    12. Re:China by Swampash · · Score: 1

      Apple has almost 100% of the market that counts: people who spend money.

  8. ICS 4 by Canazza · · Score: 1

    Maybe we Europeans can get our Xooms updated to ICS now.

    --
    It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
  9. Translation: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Apple is becoming applier than ever
    Orange is getting sweeter and juicier.
    Banana is getting a bigger bunch
    Goodbye Pear...

    (seriously, this is how stupid you sound)

  10. Nexus Razr by Andrio · · Score: 1

    Stock Android ICS + Unlocked + Droid Razr Maxx form factor/battery life? Pretty much the best handheld electronic device that can exist right now.

    --
    The Internet King? I wonder if he could provide faster nudity.
    1. Re:Nexus Razr by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Bzzt wrong. Needs a better display. 1280x720 is the minimum I am now willing to accept.

    2. Re:Nexus Razr by phoenix_rizzen · · Score: 1

      And a hardware keyboard. I basically use my phone like a pocket computer, and there's no way I could survive without a hardware keyboard. Virtual keyboards don't cut it for SSH sessions.

  11. finally, kill it! by slashmydots · · Score: 1

    I really, really hope this means a quick death for that awful Motoblur crap that runs on top of the Android UI on all Motorola smartphones. Requiring a mandatory web-based account registration for it with no corporate management whatsoever immediately disqualified every demo phone we tried for my company. I think it even required individual paypal or credit card accounts with no spending restrictions available. I guess they didn't think they'd need any business customers at all ever, because they don't like money or something. I have a feeling Google is smarter than that.

    1. Re:finally, kill it! by green1 · · Score: 1

      Motorola has actually backed off a bit, not on motoblur completely, but on the mandatory web-based account registration. I have an XT860 (Canadian version of the droid 3) and it does have motoblur, but does not have the mandatory web-based account registration.

  12. Wont happen... by jonwil · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Bootloader unlocks on phones wont happen so long as carriers like AT&T, Verizon, Rogers, Telstra etc etc etc wont sell such unlocked phones (or in some cases wont even allow them on their network)

    1. Re:Wont happen... by h4rr4r · · Score: 2

      Verizon has the galaxy nexus, they don't seem to be doing well with updates but the bootloader is not locked.

    2. Re:Wont happen... by EvilBudMan · · Score: 1

      The'll let you have them but most will block tethering if you don't pay for it which is kinda crazy. The only reason I rooted my old android phone was to get the crapware off. Still crapware on new phone but have no desire to root yet as it is still under warranty and I can't see it hurting performance as it did on my old one since the new one has more internal memory and I have an app that pretty much kills everything when the screen is off.

  13. Re:Apple Lawyers Suiting Up As We Speak by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Aside from the netting of $1B per week from operations...

  14. Define game console by tepples · · Score: 1

    Microsoft has its own games consoles. Apple, Google, and Amazon? Nope.

    If you want to claim that a company "doesn't have its own game console", I would imagine that you would first have to define "game console" so that the discussion won't derail later. Can the iPad be connected to a TV? Can the Mac mini be connected to a TV? And if so, what specifically makes a tablet or a personal computer not a "game console"?

    1. Re:Define game console by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Well, at this point it's marketing driven. Yes, technically you can attach both to a TV. No, in practice, you're not encouraged to play games on a TV screen on them.

      Regular computers can generally be attached to a TV these days too (what doesn't have HDMI?) but they're not sold as such.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    2. Re:Define game console by tepples · · Score: 1

      Regular computers can generally be attached to a TV these days too (what doesn't have HDMI?) but they're not sold as such.

      Why aren't they? Is it that Microsoft discourages Windows OEMs from building and selling home theater PCs in favor of use of its Xbox 360 console as a Media Center Extender?

    3. Re:Define game console by rsborg · · Score: 1

      Microsoft has its own games consoles. Apple, Google, and Amazon? Nope.

      If you want to claim that a company "doesn't have its own game console", I would imagine that you would first have to define "game console" so that the discussion won't derail later. Can the iPad be connected to a TV? Can the Mac mini be connected to a TV? And if so, what specifically makes a tablet or a personal computer not a "game console"?

      Hell for that matter, Amazon's Kindle Fire could be, scratch that, should be a game console. Amazon would do well to target/attack the iPod Touch market, just as the iPod Touch attacked the Gameboy/DS market. I'm still waiting, they finally fixed their "login to device == authorization to buy anything" problem on release, but if they create great games exclusive for Kindle Fire (or v2, v3, etc) then they'll be in a great position.

      --
      Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
  15. Agreed by Benfea · · Score: 0

    I haven't owned an Apple product since the Mac OS 9.x days and have vowed never to set foot in their walled garden again, that is not to say their products are without value, even at their inflated prices. Their code runs on a very limited range of hardware, and so they are able to optimize their software to an extent that would be unthinkable on Windows or Android, and it shows.

    It's not the right choice for everyone, and it is not the right choice for me, but that doesn't mean it's fair to imply that it is the wrong choice for everybody.

  16. Cableboxes by V-similitude · · Score: 1

    I just want them to fix my cable box. The current software is mind-bogglingly stupid.

  17. Oblig. Borg by athlon02 · · Score: 1

    We are Google. You will be assimilated. Your technological, biological, and patent distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile.

  18. Apple sells by keeping competitors off the market by walterbyrd · · Score: 1

    Lawsuits are huge part of Apple's business model. Apple patent trolling keeps competitors off the market. There is also the chilling effect of having a $500 billion company ready to slaughter you with lawsuits, whether you are right or wrong.

  19. Lawsuits may not be *directly* profitable by walterbyrd · · Score: 1

    But that's not the idea. The idea is bully the competition out of business.

    IP scams are huge part of Apple's business.

  20. Confusing Google with Microsoft? by walterbyrd · · Score: 1

    I have never seen any borg like activities from Google.

    1. Re:Confusing Google with Microsoft? by athlon02 · · Score: 1

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Google

  21. Rooting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought it was easy to root an Android phone? There are so many security bugs in the Linux kernel to exploit that almost every phone is root-able. Whats the big deal?

    1. Re:Rooting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are a lot of stages of "ownership" of an Android phone, from completely locked to wide open.

      1: Rooted. This means you have access to UID 0 and can copy protected APK files and their MarketPlace info for backups.

      2: Rooted, persisting across reboots. Means you possibly can run LBE Privacy Guard, DroidWall, or other stuff. This allows modifications, but really no way of putting on new ROMs on the device.

      3: kexec workaround found. This means one can install their own ROM by having a stock signed Linux kernel execute on a low level basis the new ROM's kernel and attributes.

      4: S/OFF or bootloader unlocked. This is the best stage, and allows any ROM to be installed without issue.

      Android uses a mechanism for defeating piracy independant of rooting, so even on machines with completely unlocked bootloaders, for an app to be pirated, it would take cracking of the Dalvik code.