Google27s Motorola deal a boon for Asia

Googles Motorola deal a boon for Asia2011年08月17日 15:15 PMBy Robin Kwong,Song Jung-a in Taipei,in SeoulGoogles $12.5bn bid for Motorola Mobility is being seen as more of a boon than a blow for Asian smartphone makers, as executives and analysts play down the prospects of intensifying competition from a Google-owned Motorola.Shares in Samsung Electronics, the worlds biggest producer of Android phones by sales, jumped 6.1 per cent on Tuesday, while HTC rose 3.1 per cent, on hopes that Googles acquisition of Motorolas patents could help protect Asian hardware makers in an escalating smartphone patent war.Koreas Samsung and Taiwans HTC have become Asias two biggest phone makers by sales thanks to their Android-based phones. But both are embroiled in patent infringement lawsuits with Apple.One Samsung official said that while the Google-Motorola deal, which is expected to close at the end of the year, would not help in the lawsuits, “it can certainly protect us from future patent disputes”.Many handset makers have been vulnerable to legal attack as they move into making smartphones, which use patented technology for a range of multimedia and touchscreen functions that did not exist in traditional mobile handsets.The hope is that Google may license Motorolas patents to other Android phone makers, thus strengthening their patent positions. The weight of Motorolas patents now backing up Google could also give Android phone makers an upper hand when negotiating with other patent holders such as Apple or Microsoft.That line of thought appeared to outweigh fears that Google, which will become a direct competitor as well as a partner, could favour Motorola over other hardware manufacturers.Some industry observers say Google may eventually sell off Motorolas handset business while keeping control of the patents with Chinas Huawei and ZTE, which are making an aggressive push for more market share, potential buyers. “ZTE or Huawei could be interested in that if Google decides to sell it on,” said one industry executive.ZTE said it had no such acquisition plans in the short term but would not exclude the possibility in the longer term. “We have to see how this plays out,” said ZTE. Huawei declined to comment.What Google decides to do with the handset business could be influenced partly by the Motorola brands fate in China, the worlds largest mobile phone market by subscribers and one of the brightest spots for Motorola Mobility.Nearly all of Asias smartphone manufacturers, from Japans Sony Ericsson and Sharp to Chinas ZTE and Huawei, use Googles Android operating system for their phones. Likewise, in the fast-growing tablet market, personal computer makers including Acer, Lenovo and Asus produce Android-based tablet PCs.Park Kang-ho, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said Google “can certainly give preferential treatment to Motorola by providing Motorola with its updated Android operating system first. It will negatively affect Samsungs and LGs strategies by delaying their new product launches.”However, most hardware makers expressed confidence in Google chief executive Larry Pages promise to keep Android “an open platform and a vibrant open source community” and not favour Motorola.David Chang, Asus chief financial officer, said: “We believe Google would keep Android open because that is what has contributed to Androids success so far.”Others note that outside the US, Motorola is a relatively small player in the smartphone market, with just a 4 per cent global market share. “In some markets, we continue to compete with Motorola but Motorola has never been one of our stronger and bigger competitors,” said LG.Aaron Jeng, analyst at Nomura, said that even if Google were to favour Motorola, that would not guarantee a successful product. That was illustrated earlier in the year, when Google chose Motorola to produce the first tablet PC using Googles new Honeycomb version of Android. “The Xoom sold really poorly,” Mr Jeng said.While HTC, Samsung and LG have for a long time also developed phones using other operating systems such as Microsofts Windows Mobile, “they are likely to stick to the current strategy of focusing on Android phones”, said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities.One reason for this, Nomuras Mr Jeng pointed out, is that “so far, you still dont have to pay for using Android”.While some analysts immediately anointed Microsoft the big beneficiary of Googles move on Motorola, “all manufacturers who can afford it are already actively developing Windows phones and would welcome a better consumer adoption of the platform”, said Pierre Ferragu, analyst at Bernstein.“The Motorola acquisition is therefore unlikely to move the needle in terms of their willingness to make Windows Mobile a success,” he said.对亚洲智能手机制造商而言，谷歌(Google)斥资125亿美元收购摩托罗拉移动(Motorola Mobility)在更大程度上被视为一项利好、而非利空，因为业内高管和分析师们认为，投到谷歌旗下的摩托罗拉移动不太可能加剧竞争。由于人们预期，谷歌收购摩托罗拉的专利有助于避免让亚洲硬件制造商陷入一场日益升级的智能手机专利战，三星电子(Samsung Electronics)股价在周二跃升了6.1%，HTC上涨了3.1%。按销售额衡量，三星是全球最大的Android手机生产商。受益于基于Android操作系统的手机，韩国三星和台湾HTC已成为亚洲销售额最大的两家手机制造商。但这两家公司都被苹果(Apple)以侵犯专利为由提起诉讼。三星一位高管表示，尽管谷歌-摩托罗拉交易（预计将在今年年底完成）无助于当前的诉讼，但“它肯定能防止我们未来再次陷入专利纠纷”。许多手机制造商在进军智能手机制造业务时很容易遭遇法律诉讼，因为智能手机要使用专利技术来实现一系列传统手机所不具备的多媒体和触屏功能。谷歌-摩托罗拉交易带来的希望在于，谷歌可能会把摩托罗拉的专利授权给其它Android手机制造商使用，改善它们在专利方面的处境。目前已成为谷歌有力武器的摩托罗拉专利，还可帮助Android手机制造商在与苹果或微软(Microsoft)等其它专利持有者谈判时占据上风。这种想法似乎胜过了如下的担忧：未来将成为其它硬件制造商直接竞争对手兼合作伙伴的谷歌，可能给予摩托罗拉额外照顾。一些行业观察人士表示，谷歌可能在保留专利控制权的同时最终卖掉摩托罗拉手机业务正极力扩大市场份额的华为(Huawei)和中兴通讯(ZTE)是潜在的买家。一位业内高管表示：“如果谷歌决定出售，中兴或华为可能会感兴趣。”中兴表示，短期内没有此类收购计划，但中长期而言不排除这种可能性。该公司表示：“我们必须关注这一事态的发展。”华为则拒绝置评。摩托罗拉品牌在中国的命运，可能在一定程度上影响谷歌对摩托罗拉手机业务的处理。中国市场是全球手机用户最多的市场，也是摩托罗拉移动最有前途的市场之一。从日本的索尼爱立信(Sony Ericsson)和夏普(Sharp)到中国的中兴和华为，几乎所有的亚洲智能手机制造商都使用谷歌的Android操作系统。同样，在快速发展的平板电脑市场，包括宏碁(Acer)、联想(Lenovo)和华硕(Asus)在内的个人电脑制造商都生产基于Android系统的平板电脑。大信证券(Daishin Securities)分析师朴康昊（Park Kang-ho，音译）表示，谷歌“当然可以给予摩托罗拉额外照顾，把最新版的Android操作系统首先提供给它。这将对三星和LG的战略造成不利影响，导致它们新产品的发布时间落后于摩托罗拉”。然而，大多数硬件制造商都表示相信谷歌首席执行官拉里佩奇(Larry Page)的承诺：继续让Android作为“一个开放的平台和一个富有活力的开源社区”，并且不会给予摩托罗拉额外照顾。华硕首席