Free Smartphones? Top 5 Reasons Google Wants Motorola

Aug. 17, 2011 — -- Motorola has had its moments in the cellphone business, long before Google's announcement that it was buying Motorola Mobility. In 1983, it was Motorola that marketed the first cellphone in the United States, and from 2003 to 2007, its Razr was by far the best-selling cellphone of all time.

Then came Apple's iPhone, and Motorola has struggled ever since to keep up. Its one success -- not a lasting one, but a success -- was the Droid, a smartphone that ran on Google's Android software.

So why would Google spend $12.3 billion to buy Motorola's smartphone business? And how could it affect you? That, as they say, is where the plot thickens.

Here are five top reasons cited for the deal, starting with Google's own -- if you choose to believe it:

In a blog post, Google's co-founder and CEO, Larry Page, wrote, "In 2008, Motorola bet big on Android as the sole operating system across all of its smartphone devices. It was a smart bet, and we're thrilled at the success they've achieved so far. We believe that their mobile business is on an upward trajectory and poised for explosive growth."

"The expectation is that this eventually will result in a free smartphone and possibly a free tablet," said Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group in San Jose, Calif. "Google's implied strategy is to own, and fund through advertising, most of what we currently use to access the web, including PCs -- Chromebooks -- and TVs. It will likely take a few years to get them close to free, but by owning Motorola they can move more quickly."

Think about your laptop, if it's made by, say, HP, Dell or Acer (the 2010 market leaders). They sell you the machine itself -- but it runs on Microsoft Windows, may have a Firefox or Google Chrome web browser, music from Apple's iTunes, a PDF reader from Adobe, computer games from any number of makers ... and soon enough your PC has enough bugs in it that you have to restart it twice a day just to get anything done.