Alleviating the patent problem will make Android even more of a safe, developer friendly, industry-leading platform for UC&C mobile applications.
With the importance of mobility in UC, we're watching the developments in Google's planned acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings closely. While Google's core focus remains on advertising, which accounts for 97% of its revenue, Google is such a big fish that when it jumps in the pool the water level is going to rise. Clearly the acquisition was primarily about strengthening Google's position in the patent wars, but from a functionality standpoint, the big question is: What's Google going to do with Motorola and what will that mean to the UC&C market?
While many of Google's gambits outside of its core business have failed to gain traction, the Android mobile operating system has been a resounding success. Gartner's most recent market report on worldwide mobile smartphone sales puts them in first place with 43.4%, almost twice Symbian's second-place share and far ahead of Apple, who comes in third at 18.2%. Android handsets are made by Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony Ericsson, and others, as well as Motorola, and activations are coming in at a rate of 600,000 per day.
Android is one of the three mobile platforms being targeted by UC&C vendors, along with Apple's iOS and BlackBerry. As I've noted in several past posts, the UC&C smartphone clients have languished, but the introduction of tablets has brought the mobile element back into the UC&C conversation. Both Cisco's Cius and Avaya's Desktop Video Device use Android, and if Cisco’s vision for the Cius come to pass, high-end desk sets and tablets may soon become one and the same.
No one mobile operating system is ever going to appeal to all users; UC&C vendors will be forced to introduce clients for Android and iOS at a minimum, and potentially for the QNX operating system used on the BlackBerry PlayBook. RIM is promising a translator that will allow Android applications to run on the PlayBook, but we'll have to wait and see how that solution performs. It is notable that both Cisco and Avaya went for Android first, as did NEC with its mock-up for a next-generation desk set that looks surprisingly like the Cius but with a removable Samsung Galaxy tablet (also an Android device).
Android has clearly benefitted from the number of manufacturers who have gotten on the bandwagon including HTC, Samsung and LG, and the strategy has been to build an ecosystem to challenge Apple's one-size-fits-all approach. The ongoing challenge for Android and its minions has been to deliver a user interface and user experience on par with Apple. On the UI/UE front Android is "pretty good." The range of features it allows the user to control has been a real hit with people who like to fuss with their smartphones, but for the other 98% of the population, it's just an iPhone with lumps. That's further exacerbated by the fact that each manufacturer can add its own UI elements to Android, while Apple has tightly controlled the "iPhone experience."
My initial thought when the deal was announced was that Google could use Motorola to help curtail the fragmentation we have seen in the Android market. Potentially Google could try to establish Motorola's implementation as the "Android Flagship," and attempt to build an Apple-like user experience (along with integration to other Google offerings) on that model. This would call for a delicate balancing act, as favoritism toward Motorola could alienate the other Android device manufacturers.
Google has stated that it intends to operate Motorola as a separate company, showing no favoritism to it over any of its other partners. In essence that would mean that Google is comfortable with the status quo and hopes that the openness and choice offered in the Android model will continue to outshine Apple’s "one size fits all" approach.
Dave Michels reaches this same point in his blog on the acquisition. In the end Dave comes down on the side of jettisoning the hardware business to maintain the "fragile ecosystem" that has been critical to Android’s success. I don’t think the ecosystem is that "fragile" for the simple reason that the handset manufacturers really don't have anywhere else to go! Microsoft Phone 7's market share is 1% and WebOS is now off the table! The partners are not walking away from a winner.
Google could potentially have it both ways, developing the "Flagship Android" idea and inviting other manufacturers to either join in or to continue to use Android as the basis for its own independent developments. Given its public statements and rather spotty track record of wringing synergies out of its various gambits, my guess is Motorola goes up for sale as soon as the deal closes. Too bad.
But in the end, this move should be good for UC&C. Alleviating the patent problem will make Android even more of a safe, developer friendly, industry-leading platform for UC&C mobile applications, and mobile apps are going to be a big part of the future for UC&C.
