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Google's secret weapon to take down Cupertino and Redmond

April 23, 2012, 11:23 AM PDT

Takeaway: Google is about to take possession of a software weapon that it could fire at Apple and Microsoft, but it’s unclear whether it will push the button.

While the technology industry remains baffled about why Google decided to acquire Motorola Mobility, I have spotlighted one of the key assets that is largely being overlooked in the deal: Motorola’s Webtop software. In an in-depth report for TechRepublic’s sister site CNET, you can read about how Webtop snuck up on the tech world, the power of Webtop 2.0, and my analysis of how Google could effectively use Webtop to give Android a big boost in its race against Apple and Microsoft in the post-PC world.

This topic also has major enterprise implications as well. If Google were to integrate Webtop into the next version of Android then it would create a huge market of smartphones that could dock and serve as thin client devices, accessing the Web and Citrix. These PC replacements could pose a big challenge to the stranglehold that Microsoft Windows has on the enterprise.

Read the full story.

Photo credit: Jason Hiner/CNET

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About Jason Hiner

Jason Hiner is the Editor in Chief of TechRepublic. He writes about the products, people, and ideas that are revolutionizing business with technology.

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22 Votes

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Serious Doubts...

MrMarcelo 26th Apr 2012

The concept of "Webtop" is nothing new. It's been around for a long while, so I fail to see how this is any sort of Microsoft or Apple killer. Motorola's attempts failed because of a number of factors, among them cost, OS platform (in other words, it was neither a good phone OS nor a good desktop OS), and processing capability of the chip in the phone.

But that's not the main thing that causes doubts. It is a philosophical fallacy at best. Consider this: The client-computing world has steadily been moving away from laptops towards much more mobile devices to the tune of very smart phones and tablets and ultra-light computers (think 11" Macbook Air type or even the dreaded and useless "netbook").... and now you're saying that by going BACK to a conventional laptop format, just because it can hook up to your phone, it's going to take down Apple and Microsoft? Get real... Listen, there is a market for the "webtop" concept, I don't deny that... but to label it as Apple / Microsoft killer is absurd...

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5 Votes

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Probly just me, but...

gphoto45@... 26th Apr 2012

Not quite sure why, but I have issues with using your smartphone to replace your computer. Guess I have had to too many issues with having to lean out of the car, or go to a cubical near a window to get a connection that wasn't garbled. Sure puts a BSOD (hurt) on editing a 30 page spreadsheet. Spent a lot of time trying to find someone running AutoCad, designing buildings on their smart phone. Don't know a lot of netadmin that pick up their smart phone, and remote into a desktop with a malware problem. I do personally know one lady that edited orders from a large food supplier, that tried using her smart phone to adjust an order. What a waste of 8 hours! Short of getting your emails, twitting, blogging and following your friends on Facebook, I think you should get off the kick of using a smart phone for a computer, and just try and get one that lets you make a decent phone call.

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4 Votes

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its cool, but wait...

bukshanekom 26th Apr 2012

I can't figure out why I would ever ditch my MacBook with 750GB HDD + 8 GB Ram + i7 Processor to carry around a dumb screen, keyboard, and trackpad. This is like Lego, its way cool, extremely fun to play with and you can build an amazing looking Imperial Battle Cruiser with it, but at the end of the day its just a toy space ship.

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0 Votes

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Microsoft is killing the PC, they don't need help from gOOGLE or aPPLE

imnotrich 5th May 2012

Tablets, Ipads, Smartphones will NEVER replace the PC desktop or laptop for getting serious work done, they're convenient and fun little toys but unless you're a lilliputian keyboard and screen sizes designed for humans-and average human visual acuity-will remain approximately the same. I can type 80wpm on a regular keyboard. Maybe 5wpm on a smartphone. Which, then, do you think my employer will expect me to use?
Now Windows 8 (like Ubuntu's disaster known as Unity) is designed for pads and smartphones, not pc's. The interface is not intuitive and requires more work/keystrokes/touches to get the same work done as previous guis. How's that going to impact productivity? Need an app for Windows 8? Forget about any of the software you've paid hundreds or thousands of dollars for. None of it will run under Windows 8. Nothing. Your only source of software? The new Microsoft App store. Programs must be written specifically for Windows 8, approved by Microsoft, and sold at the M$ app store. Expect Microsoft to drop support for their best OS ever (XP), as well as the turkeys known as Vista and 7. Businesses and individuals will be forced to seek alternatives (apple, linux) and Microsoft will die.
Wait for it.

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0 Votes

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Moto "give away" iridium because of "accountants"...

ben@... 2nd May 2012

in the same way your accountant will make you stop buying drinks when you run out of cash and have maxed out all your cards. Iridum ran out of money. They never got close to cash-flow positive, never made any money, burned up "loads of money". It went TU because they could not raise any more money, because there wasn't much chance of positive cash flow for a really long time. It's been over a decade, several changes in biz models, and still it's hardly shown explosive growth. It looks like a good investment of $11M now, but only after a really long time (in Venture years).

You're right that Google was wise to pick up Moto-mobility for it's smarts. MM has been a pioneer and market leader for a long time. The IP portfolio is huge and hugely valuable.

Accountants have a job to do, as do BODs of publicly traded companies. The accountants tell the story accurately and with traceability (if they're any good). Accountants don't make business decisions, directors do that. BODs' job is to ensure the company makes money and grows. They sometimes make bad decisions and companies fail.

A LOT of companies have made outsourcing descisions, and it often doesn't work out well in the long run. MM made mistakes that let competitors take over a market they created. It isn't as simple as "accountants".

I admit the decision to sell off MM had me scratching my head, but no mystery as to why Google would pick it up. It might turn out to be a good thing for MM, too soon to tell.

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0 Votes

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I slipped my phone...

ben@... 2nd May 2012

into my back pocket once. It was went fine until I sat down....
But I really wanted to upgrade anyway...

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